A Turn Of Fates
by Violetrose25
Summary: Things have not been going well for Loki... as usual. All of Asgard hates him, Thor is still the chosen son, and Loki has lost his mortal bride before she could even be his bride. He's alone, bitter, and hurt. Can somebody new help give him the happiness he's been denied for so long? (Loki/OC. M for language and future smut. I own nothing!)
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, just to note, this is a spin off to another story I was doing called 'Loophole.' You don't have to read that to understand this one, though. I explain the background info. Also, the OC I'm using is one I've used before... and she means a lot to me. She was the first character I ever created on this site. But this is a different story from the one she was in first.**

**But she is still uh... who she is. Let's just say that my character has some secrets. So don't be upset when the truth comes out.**

* * *

Loki sat across from this woman, this Erica. She was staring at him intently, not with fear or distain... but interest. The blonde was unafraid of him... as she had said. Erica had found Loki sitting on a lonely bench this frigid December night, where he was bitterly contemplating his life. He'd lost his chosen bride... before she could even BECOME his bride, and was alone once again. Nothing ever seemed to go right for the unfortunate prince of Asgard.

While Thor bathed in the glory of his fathers' adoration, his friends admiration, and his Jane's LOVE... Loki sat alone in the cold and dark... where he belonged. Now here he was, the fates seeing kindly upon him for the first time. This beautiful woman had come to see him at his lowest, frozen tears stuck to his numb face. And she'd offered to take him out of the cold, not knowing who he was of course.

But when he did tell her some twenty minutes later... he saw no reason to lie, Loki was too depressed to care... Erica's reaction surprised him. She just accepted it. Not only that, but she still wanted to be in his company. Now here they were, sitting in a coffee shop on Christmas Eve.

Erica brushed her long bangs from her dirty turquoise eyes, and took a sip of her peppermint 'latte.'

"So, if you don't mind, tell me what the hell has got you so down."

"It is a long and very depressing story. Now is not the time to talk."

"Fair enough. Why are you on Earth?"

"... It's part of that long and depressing story."

"Okay... then how have things been since New York? Did you get off on parole or some shit like that?"

"Not exactly." Loki replied.

"Care to elaborate?" Erica asked, crossing her legs.

"Not really."

She sat back and sighed. "Well then that just about rules out any topic involving you, now doesn't it?"

"Exactly." Loki shot her a small yet depressed smile.

"Well fuck man! What the hell are we supposed to talk about?"

Loki chuckled. "... You?"

"What about me?"

"Why were you walking about in the cold? Should you not be with your family?"

"I could ask you the same thing, you know." She pointed out.

"You make a good point. Maybe if you explain a little then I might return the favor."

Erica raised an eyebrow. Loki just kept his mischievous little smile. She contemplated this. Hmm... could she really trust him? Well NO, obviously, but still. He was obviously hurt, far more than Erica had seen in other people. Loki could lie about many things... it was his freaking title! But Erica was no idiot, she knew how to spot a lie. Plus, if anyone could spot the difference between crocodile tears and real emotional torment, it was Erica.

Besides, why the hell not? She _was_ having coffee with the man who tried to destroy the world... caution obviously had been thrown into the wind a long time ago.

"Alright, you really want to know?"

"Yes."

She sighed. "Let's just say I'm not on good terms with the family right now. They're all the way down in Louisiana, and I sure as fuck don't want them visiting."

Loki nodded. "Why are you not on 'good terms'?"

"... Reasons." She mumbled.

"Such as?"

"Nu-uh. Your turn. Why aren't you in Asgard right now?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Alright. Well of course I'm not on the best of terms with my family either. My 'brother' is out flaunting his engagement to a mortal he's fallen in love with, and no doubt enjoying this holiday season with her and my 'parents'. As usual I'm left to be a mere witness to all this happiness while experiencing none of my own."

His voice became rather dark towards the end.

Erica nodded. "Mmm... yeah, that sucks. But you gotta admit... you kinda had it coming."

"If you've known the suffering I've had to live with, you would not say such things."

"Fair enough."

Loki chuckled. "Now you must explain to me your 'reasons.'"

Erica simply smirked. "I never said I'd explain my reasons to you."

Loki's smile faded from his face. "Well I think I am owed an explanation."

"I don't owe you shit. If anything, you owe me for taking you out of the cold." She said this with no hint of anger, only amusement. "Besides, I don't think you're telling me the full story."

He had no response to that. Because in all honesty, the mortal was right. She was a quick witted woman, Loki would give her that. Beautiful too. Qualities he was surprised to find in a Midgardian.

"Well... that is what I do. Besides, I don't trust you enough to share such details."

"Likewise, Loki."

The trickster was liking this. He was liking this a lot. Here was somebody to engage in a decent conversation with. And the fact that she was so utterly indifferent to his identity made Erica all the more intriguing.

"I am glad we understand one another. Perhaps we could do this again in the near future?" Loki offered.

Erica thought. Hmm... it could be very interesting. Speaking with a god of her heritage, possibly learning about the places she'd heard of as a child. Yes, Erica was of Norse descent. She was half-Swedish, for gods sake! Not to mention a direct descendant of the Viking Erik the Red. And besides, how many people does Loki warm up enough to actually offer such a thing?

"Sure. I guess I'll see you... when exactly?"

"Soon, Erica."

"Soon. Got it. Anyway I've got to go, my dog is probably howling for me at my apartment."

"You have a pet?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. Yes, I assume I should be leaving as well. My brother is probably howling for me at home as well."

Erica laughed. "Good luck with Thor."

"Thank you, I shall need it."

And with that, the two departed. Erica walked silently down the snowy streets, just thinking to herself: _Well this has been one of the more interesting things that's happened to me in my life so far. Let's see how much weirder things get._

* * *

Loki returned to his chambers, with Thor waiting by the door.

"Where have you been, brother? I've been worried!"

"Where I've been is of no matter to you, Thor. All that does matter is that I have kept my promise and returned... AND I haven't killed anybody."

Loki walked quite indifferently passed his brother, cold and distant as usual.

"Brother, please talk to me." Thor pleaded.

He sounded rather upset. Loki thought. Should he tell the big oaf where he'd been? The lovely woman he'd met? Just to ease his mind... shut him up for a bit at least. The answer to that was an obvious NO. And allow Thor to take that too? Not this time. Loki was not going to let his brother ruin his opportunity for something that could bring him happiness.

So instead of giving him a straight answer, Loki simply smiled and said:

"I've been clearing my head and enjoying the lovely sights the realm has to offer. And I think I shall enjoy them more often. Goodnight brother, go and attend to your Jane. She's probably more worried about you than you are about me at the moment."

Thor knew when Loki was not going to speak with him. He sighed, defeated, and headed to Jane's room. Whatever he was up to, Thor could only hope that it wasn't getting Loki into trouble.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED! PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF LOKI WAS OUT OF CHARACTER OR ANYTHING! OR IF THIS STORY JUST PLAIN SUCKS. I CAN TAKE A HINT.

THANKS FOR READING ANYWAYS!


	2. Chapter 2

Taking a deep breath, Erica focused her sight on the target. He was a big drug lord out here in Russia, also one of the main human traffickers in Moscow. He had many different names to go by... but she knew him as Nicolai Smirnoff. He must not have been too bright, seeing as his alius was the name of a brand of Vodka. She'd been following him for about three days, since she'd been called out on Christmas day. The air was cold, well... more than. This WAS Siberia, where he'd kept a secret bunker. She didn't mind though, Erica LOVED the winter. Somebody in his inner circle must have tipped him off...

She could almost feel the eyes of his body guards trying to spot her. They wouldn't though. Erica was disguised by the ivory snow. Plus the constant blizzards worked to her benefit. Nicolai was standing outside the bunker, talking to one of his associates. He was a heavy set man with slick black hair, invaded by streaks of grey. His face was reddish from the frigid winds, while his gaunt nose was scarred from previous fights. Nicolai was dressed in a heavy snowsuit, the heat causing a gleam of sweat to form at his brow.

Erica sneered as she adjusted the sniper rifle. "Smile, you fucking scumbag."

And with that, the twenty three year old fired. The shot was exceptionally loud, but the bullet traveled too fast for anyone to react properly. Nicolai had a red dot in his forehead and a huge splatter of blood behind him before the guards even knew what happened.

"Jackpot."

The blonde smiled. Everyone around him was extremely confused, and drawing their weapons. But before they could even get them up, Erica had gotten two of them. One in the heart, one in the throat. Erica would be paid extra for that. Hehe. She checked around to see if anyone had caught on to her location. When she was sure nobody had, Erica hauled ass. The woman had traveled by foot since Moscow, had actually camped out over night in the woods and hunted. Only this time she had the entire day to head back, instead of just the afternoon. And, seeing as nobody was around...

Erica used one of her many little talents, and raced at sonic speed back to the edge of the city. Normally she wouldn't care if people saw her abnormal speeds... or anything else for that matter... but Erica was on a mission. She had to keep a low-profile. Once back amongst the crowds, she went back to her hotel and waited. Her payment arrived some hours later, in the form of a large manila envelope.

Erica smiled. This was good, this was _very_ good. Inside was the thirty grand she'd been promised, along with another five thousand for the two guards. Erica felt satisfied. This was what she'd been put on this Earth to do, kill off the bastards in the world, one shot at a time.

* * *

_New Years Eve..._

Erica was sitting comfortably in her apartment tonight. It wasn't anything grand, it was just the right size she needed. One bedroom, two bathrooms, a decent sized kitchen, and a living room. She wasn't one for extravagance, even with her line of work. The money was great, but most of it was saved for major emergencies. One could never be too careful when it came to the professional assassin lifestyle. Should she ever need to get the fuck out of there, Erica could take the money she had saved (around $500,000) and just go.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of whimpering near the couch. Erica rolled her eyes. It was her old mutt, Lycan, begging for his spot on the couch. He was around twelve years old, and had problems with his hips. Lycan was a mix of shepherd, pitbull, and what Erica suspected to be wolf. The dog was medium sized, coming up to her knees, and black as night. Hell, if there was poor lighting, one couldn't distinguish him from the shadows!

His color mixed with his long muzzle and bushy tail gave him a werewolf-like appearance, hence his name. Erica sighed.

"Alright buddy, you can come up." She pat the couch to let him up beside her.

"Happy?" She asked the animal. In response, he licked her hand.

"Thought so."

Erica would leave him at a decent kennel every time she left for a mission. Of course she'd hear stories of how he'd whine all night until she came to pick him up. She'd had him since... well... home.

Louisiana. Dad had given him to her when Erica was eleven. She sighed. Oh well, can't dwell on the past for too long. So to take her mind off of things, Erica went to fridge to get her champagne. Erica hadn't been planning to see the ball drop with the rest of the population... Erica saw no reason to, really. But suddenly this odd... this feeling came over her. A little voice kept saying:

'_Go to times square tonight. Go to times square tonight.'_

Hmm. Curious. It sure as hell wasn't anything Erica would normally think... perhaps it was an outside force. But what- oh. She rolled her eyes. It must have been Loki. He DID say that he was going to see her again soon, perhaps he was egging her to meet him. Seems likely. But should she go?

"What do you think boy, should I go and visit the psychotic god that tried to take over the world?"

Lycan tilted his head to the side, almost curious.

"I know, pretty illogical, right?"

The dog didn't respond this time. Erica knew it was dumb to go and see Loki again, could end up getting her killed or something. But you know what, she was a goddamn assassin! And she wasn't an idiot. The woman could handle herself. And besides, it could be fun. So she got dressed, threw on her coat, and headed out.

"Wish me luck, Lycan."

He barked once. She laughed. Ah, the crazy shit Erica got herself into.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL LIKED IT! THANKS FOR READING!


	3. Chapter 3

Loki waited in the crowd as Erica approached him. She was wearing a defensive yet playful expression, Loki could only guess what she was thinking. He had come because, quite frankly, he wanted to. And she was intriguing. Why NOT visit her? Besides, it was better here than in Asgard, as strange as that sounded. Thor was celebrating the new year with strong drink, and Loki did NOT want to be around him and his drunken band of idiots.

"Ah, so you received my invitation?" Loki greeted.

"Yeah, it was pretty hard to miss somebody bombarding my head with 'subliminal' messages." She retorted.

Loki chuckled.

"So, why did you call me out here?"

"To see you."

"No shit, Sherlock. I mean why did you WANT to see me?"

At first Loki raised an eyebrow. He was particularly familiar with Midgardian terminology, and was unsure of who or what 'Sherlock' was referring to. No shit, however, was not foreign.

"Why not?"

Erica's face twisted into a mixture of confusion, amusement, and detachment.

"Um... Okay then."

He was the trickster god, why should she expect a clear answer from him? This could spell trouble but, hey... as he said... why not? Why NOT hang around with a little psycho god? At least it could prove to be entertaining. Besides, he was from HER culture. Erica might learn a little about all the stories she grew up with. Erica realized they were standing in an awkward silence, so she broke the ice.

"What do you want to do while you're here?"

"Shall we watch this colorful ball drop and begin the New Year?"

She shrugged. "Sure." Suddenly a question came to mind. "Wait a minute, won't people recognize you? I mean, coming here has to be a pretty stupid decision looking the way you do, even if you are in a winter suit. Do you just have a hankering to get your ass killed by a New York Mob?"

Loki laughed. "Of course not. I come in disguise! I am no fool, Erica."

"_Really?"_

"Yes."

"Is that why you let yourself be captured and dragged away to prison? Because you're such an evil genius?"

Loki's face darkened. "You speak boldly, my dear."

"Is that a threat?" Erica asked, body tensing defensively.

"Only if you take it as such, Erica. It is merely a warning."

Erica rolled her eyes. "I'm NOT afraid of you."

"Such audacity! Tell me, what makes you so unafraid of me? What gives you such confidence as to believe you are safe from harm?"

Loki was not sure what response he was looking for, possibly fear, possibly submission... but this is not what he was expecting. Erica simply laughed, crossed her arms, and smiled.

"You really think you're intimidating, don't you?"

For this, Loki had no answer. Did she honestly just ask that?

"What, you think I'm gonna stick my tail between my legs and say 'sorry King Loki?' I see right through your bullshit 'tough-guy' persona, so just cut it out now. Besides, I ain't one to bow down, okay? You want to hang with a submissive little princess, I suggest you go somewhere else."

For a while, this statement caused another silence. Well... it was more of a stare-down. Who would back down first? Loki was waiting for some sign of resignation on her face, a flicker of doubt... anything he could use to manipulate and break her. Erica, all the while, was just confidently smirking at him. She knew she wasn't going to back down. All she was waiting for was him to realize this. She got her wish when he slumped his shoulders and smiled.

"I think I'm going to like you."

Erica now felt she had permission to relax. "Great! We have an understanding! So, what's this about a disguise? How come I can see you the way you are?"

"Well, my magic has many spells concerning hiding ones' identity. This one just masks who I am to everyone aside from those I specify otherwise."

"Aw, so I'm special?"

"Indeed."

"So what do you look like instead?"

"Come, I will show you."

Loki took her by the hand, and began leading Erica through the crowd. There was only one way for Erica to see his ruse, and that was using a mirror. Seeing as none were available, he led her to a darkened store window.

"THIS is what the rest of the world sees."

The blonde stood blankly for a moment before...

"HA HA HAHAHA! OMYGOD!"

She was doubled over in laughter, face going bright red.

"What? What is so funny?"

"THAT IS PRICELESS!"

She screeched. Others were beginning to look at her in confusion, but quickly turned back. She was probably just high or drunk or something, in their eyes.

"What is so DAMN amusing!?" Loki demanded, growing annoyed.

After a few minutes, she recovered. "Do you know who you look like?"

"_Who?"_

"You look exactly like Tom Hiddleston... if he had an evil twin."

"Who is THAT?"

"An actor."

"Like in a theater?" Erica sighed.

"Something like that. You don't know much about our culture, do you?"

Loki shook his head. Of course he didn't. He didn't care to learn about a civilization that he despised.

Erica was suddenly struck with an idea. "Say... if I taught you about MY culture... would you teach me about Asgardian culture?"

"Why would I want to learn about your wretched culture?"

"Because you're too stupid to know that you look like somebody easily recognizable."

Eh... damn it, the woman had a point. Loki pointed out something. "It would mean we'd be spending time together frequently." She shrugged.

"Okay."

Loki had no response to that. She actually didn't MIND the prospect of being in his company? Even after his threats?

"So do we have a deal?" Erica asked.

Loki smiled. "Yes. Yes we do."

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED! PLEASE REVEIW! THANKS FOR READING!


	4. Chapter 4

_Two Weeks Later..._

Erica had not heard a word from her new acquaintance in about two weeks. She didn't mind, really. Erica didn't exactly have time to entertain the deranged little mischief maker every goddamn day. She'd had two missions, and had since acquired another hundred thousand. Plus nobody from home had tried to call and start up some sort of argument. So, in essence, life had been good. And whatever Loki was doing with his time, it was of no concern to Erica.

Today she'd decided to relax a bit. Between chasing down targets and removing all traces of her existence in those countries, Erica had found herself pretty tired. And that didn't happen often, considering what she was. It wasn't even a physical thing... it was just that she needed a day off. And who doesn't every now and again? The lovely blonde started this day of relaxing with waffles and fried chicken. Who gave a damn if it was unhealthy, she wasn't on any diet! Besides, Erica had a remarkably high metabolism.

Originally she'd settled on lounging in some flannel pajamas, but quickly realized it was too hot for her. Even though it was the middle of January, she found being bundled up was too much. And with a body temperature of 101.5, could anyone blame her?

So she stripped down to her silk red tank top and little black panties. Hey, it's HER place, why the hell should she care? After grabbing a beer, Erica sprawled herself out on the couch, Lycan by her side. She flipped from channel to channel, trying to find something watchable. .

After so long, she settled on a nice B-rated sci-fi creature-feature movie. They were so dumb you just couldn't help but watch. In the midst of the horrible CGI and mediocre writing, Lycan started growling.

"What is it, boy?"

His ears flattened out, teeth bore. Erica tensed, following Lycan's eyes. They seemed to be set in the corner of the room... though there was nothing there. Erica knew immediately something was amiss. At her sonic speed, the blonde set down her plate and went to the back closet to fetch her shotgun. Now, cautiously, she tip toed down the hall. Whatever danger was lurking, she sure as shit wasn't going down without a fight.

What could it be? Did somebody bug her apartment? Did one of those goddamn mafia members finally catch up to her? Erica flipped through the pages of her memory, trying to come up with an answer.

All of a sudden she heard a yelp of pain. "Good dog." she whispered.

Zooming back, Erica held up her weapon, ready to fight, when...

Loki was laying on the ground, clutching at his ankle. Erica sighed.

"Goddamnitt, Loki!" She scolded.

"Your beast attacked me!" He retorted.

Erica looked to Lycan, who had blood dripping from his mouth. "Somebody's getting a milkbone tonight!" She cooed, watching his tail wag.

"Aghh..." The god groaned.

She rolled her eyes and helped him up onto the couch.

"What the HELL are you doing here?"

"I have come for my lessons in Midgardian culture."

"...In my apartment?!"

"Well you said my disguise was easily recognizable!"

"That doesn't give you permission to come into my apartment! I could have killed you!" Erica explained.

Loki's face seemed to metamorphosis from agony to... amusement? Intrigue? What the hell was he looking at?

"My my, Erica, such lovely attire. Perhaps you should consider wearing that more frequently." What the-GAH!

Erica's legs were exposed, long and slender. The lacy panties barely covered her private areas, and only advertised the luxurious curve of her hip. The tank top was rather thin, and had quite a low V neck, so most of her cleavage was exposed.  
She suddenly realized her state and moved to change. Quickly she threw on a robe, not wanting Loki seeing that much of her. Evidently, he followed Erica to her bedroom, and was quite satisfied with himself.

"Shy, are we?"

Erica turned her head. "Get the_ fuck out_ of my room!"

"Or what?"

"I'll kill you."

"My dear, you honestly believe you could accomplish that?"

She smirked. "You'd be surprised by what I can do, Loki."

He chuckled. "Confident."

"I am."

"Well... anyway, shall we discuss my new disguise?"

"You're not going to leave until I do, are you?"

"No, I am afraid not. And it seems you have no intention of killing me." Loki observed.

"Eh, you're kinda growing on me."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Don't push it, you still broke in." She warned.

Loki smiled before entering into her room. Luckily, for Loki, there was a full-length mirror on the inside of the door.

"Shall we begin?"

"I suppose."

Erica sat back on her bed, which was covered in bleak black sheets. Loki chanted softly, and she watched his reflection slowly morph. The blond found herself quite fascinated by the process, actually. His short gold hair straightened out, and clung to his face, which was shifting into a rounder... almost cherub look. His reflection shortened, and the clothes rewove themselves into a gray hoodie with loose jeans.

Immediately she realized whom he'd changed into.

"How it this?"

"... You're Justin Bieber. Why?!"

"I thought a more innocent look might throw off the public. Is it not better?"

"No. It's _worse._ Like way, way worse. Unless you want to be mobbed by screaming twelve year olds, I suggest you pick something else."

He sighed and the process began again. Now he stretched out, the muscles becoming more defined and the complexion darkening. The face shifted to have more bony features, and the nose flatted out a bit. The eyes drifted apart, and the hair turned black and woollike.

"Now you're Will Smith! What the hell?! Stop picking popular celebrities!"

The god was getting slightly more irritated. "Fine! I'll try something else."

Again. Now the hair became gold, eyes blue as the ocean and the skin as pale as snow. The lips became thinner, the muscles bigger. Shoulders wrapped in a leather jacket, and dark blue jeans reaching the floor. Erica couldn't even believe this one.

"Well?" Loki said after a minute.

"No."

"What? WHY?"

"NO."

"WHY?"

"You are NOT going out as Alexander Skarsgard."

"Well why the hell not?"

"For one, he's a celebrity. TWO, he's like my dad's doppleganger, it's weird."

Loki looked between his new persona and his female companion. And the resemblance... was uncanny. Same hair, same oval face...

"It's remarkable."

"I know. Shut up."  
"You have his eyes."

"I said SHUT UP. Now look, you can't keep picking celebrities. It will not work out for you! Just... make something up!"

Now Loki was almost pissed. "FINE!"

This time his nose grew, the hair lengthened and turned black, working itself into a pony tail. Two brown eyes gleamed in their sockets, while the skin changed into an almost Hispanic cast of cocoa. The body was still attractive, though much less toned than the previous ruses.

"And..."

"Okay, that's better. That works."

"Excellent. That's one less problem to worry about."

"Yeah, but you still have a lot of work to do. For one, I'll have to teach you about pop-culture so that these kind of mistakes won't happen again."

"Alright. And perhaps I shall teach you of the early history of Asgard."

Erica smiled. "I like that. But I do want to make one more thing clear."

"Anything, my dear."

She leaned in close, beckoning him to her. Loki gladly complied. And Erica whispered:

"If you ever break in to my house again, I'll beat you to death with a iron stick."

Loki couldn't help but enjoy this womans' threats. She was actually rather cunning. Ah yes, Loki definitely saw potential in Erica. For what... well he wasn't too sure yet. But he'd find out soon enough.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE EVERYONE LIKED! THANKS FOR READING!


	5. Chapter 5

_Five Weeks Later..._

Thor was beginning to worry for his brother. Loki has continued to travel about, never giving an explanation for where'd he had gone or WHY he'd gone there. And when he returned, Loki seemed rather... amused? Pleased with himself? Thor was unsure. Either way, in his experience, Thor had a suspicion that his brother was up to no good. It was his nature, after all.

At the same time, no report of mischief had been delivered to the royal family. Heimdal had announced that Midgard did not have any unusual disturbances as of late, nothing that would have acted as a trigger. Even though Loki could shield himself, this did not stop the gatekeeper from seeing the larger picture around him. So technically the trickster had committed no crime. Thor still worried though.

He didn't like the look on his brothers' face every time he returned home. It was too gleeful, too unlike the serious trickster. What could he possibly be doing?!

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Okay, so today we are learning about one of the most important things in modern life."

"Alright." Loki replied duly, staring at the black screen.

Erica cleared her throat before turning the odd machine on. "Loki I hereby introduce you... to the internet!"

And just like that, the world lit up into an array of bright lights. Erica had shown him the functions of the keyboard already, so Loki was aware of how to type. Now he looked to the screen in fascination. There was an empty box for which to plug information into, beside which was a word:

"Google? What the Hel is a 'Google'?"

"It's a search engine, which means you type in a word, and it gives you every little bit of info the site has on it."

"Remarkable."

"I know, right. Well, you know how to work the keyboard. If you need me, I'll be watching Titanic."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had taught me about 'films' last week. And you had specifically said the 'Titanic' was one of the most overplayed, overrated mush fests that completely debased the actual tragedy from which it was based upon.' Why would you watch it?"

"So I can watch Decaprio turn into a popcsiclio." She replied with a straight face.

Loki chuckled. "Alright."

"Excellent. Just let me know if you have any questions!"

"Indeed."

* * *

Erica found herself rather enjoying these lessons. Loki had been weaving her countless tales of ancient wars and battles, as well as all of the amazing cultural details about Asgard. And all she had to do was show him movies (which they'd covered) and some basic Western-World technology, and she'd be all set. So the assassin sat on her ass while watching her movie, not giving a damn about anything else.

"Erica!" Loki called.

"Yes, Loki?"

"I have a question!" He answered.

"About what?"

"Well... what is this 'FanFiction' I'm seeing?"

OH shit, Erica thought. He didn't need to see this one. "Uh... hold on! I'll be right over there!"

She jumped up off the couch, near running to the computer room. But by the time she got there:

"OH MY GOD!" Loki screamed.

His face was one of horrified disgust as she reached him. Erica could only imagine what he was reading. Loki looked over to his companion.

"Your species is sick!"

"What Loki? What are you reading?"

"This is unaccpectable! This is wrong in every sense of the word! How can such dull creatures come up with such nightmares?!" Loki ranted, face nearly purple with anger. Erica grabbed his shoulders.

"WHAT. DID. YOU. FIND?!"

Slowly he calmed down, skin returning to its normal pale hue. Loki's breathing slowed, and he relaxed.

"I FOUND... this." He pointed to the screen.

Erica moved to read what was written. After about five minutes, she turned back to her friend.

"I am SO sorry."

"How DARE you mortals write me into romantic relationships with that bafoon! I would NEVER..."

"Loki, I know. I know."

"Can you explain why this exists?!" He screamed.

"Well... we have _very_ active imaginations. Some of us write stories based on people or franchises that already exist, and bend them to what we desire. I can't really explain the appeal... the only reason I know of the site is from my little cousin, who's obsessed with this stuff."

Loki grumbled.

"And you wonder why I wanted to destroy your pathetic race."

Erica smacked him for that one.

"Don't talk about us that way. You realize I'M part of this pathetic race, right?"

"Well you're an exception. And DON'T hit me."

Erica raised an eyebrow. "Am I now? Why is that?"

"You're... not like most humans."

"Is that a compliment, Loki?"

His face seemed to resonate with alarm. "... No. No of course not."

Erica didn't seem offended. In fact, she looked rather amused. She sighed before logging out of the site for Loki.

"Perhaps next time I should be present for your internet usage, so this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

"Now Erica, I am not a child."

"Right, but do you REALLY want to unintentionally stumble into another site like this? God help you if you found tumblr... SO much Thorki."

"What is Thorki? I'm disgusted enough by this 'Frostiron' business."

Erica did not reply for a minute. Oh boy, how was she going to break this to him? Considering his reaction to him and Tony Stark, she could not even imagine the rage THAT might send him into! Good lord, he might go on a killing spree from that. As much fun as it was to see Loki squirm, and it WAS hilarious, Erica wasn't about to let innocent people be murdered for a moment of amusement.

"Well, come on Erica, spit it out!"

"Are you SURE you want to know this?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "... Alright. Thorki is... well..." She whispered it quietly into his ear.

"OH! YOU... YOU SICK-MINDED BASTARDS!" Loki blurted.

"Now Loki... don't kill anybody..."

He was shaking with fury. "You people actually believe that I would... OH! The horror! I will be seeing such disgusting images in my worst nightmares for weeks!"

"I know, I know. Come on, I'll get your mind off of it."

"How can you accomplish that?!"

"How about we go sit down, heat up some popcorn, and watch something violent and disturbing? Eh?"

Loki relented. "Alright."

"Excellent!"

* * *

When Loki returned to Asgard, he felt rather strange. Something felt... off in his mind. Why would he even come close to complimenting a mortal?! Had he gone soft? What was wrong with him? And worse, why was he always looking forward to seeing Erica? Granted, she was a suitable alternative to being around Thor, but still! She was nothing special, just an exceptionally attractive mortal woman.

An intelligent, witty, beautiful...

"Brother!" Thor called.

Oh_ no_.

"Where have you been, Loki?" He asked as he approached.

"Not now, Thor. This is no concern of yours."

"Brother, I am worried for you."

"Well don't be!" Loki retorted. "I do not need your concerns, or your pity, or whatever it is you are attempting to unload onto me!"

"But brother..."

"I am NOT. YOUR. BROTHER." Loki near whispered before walking off.

For a split second, that horrible thing Erica mentioned crept into his mind. _That fool and I... ugh... _He shivered with disgust. Loki stormed off. He needed to think. Thor looked to his brother, the one who lamented him, and sighed.

"What am I going to do?" He thought.

AUTHORS' NOTE: SORRY IF THIS WAS A LITTLE DUMB. I JUST COULDN'T HAVE LOKI BEING INTRODUCED TO OUR CULTURE WITHOUT MENTIONING FANFICS AND TUMBLR.

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED ANYWAY! HOPEFULLY THE NEXT CHAPTERS WILL BE A LITTLE MORE MEANINGFUL. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Loki and Erica had become quite... well... they'd become friends, so to speak over the past few months. Erica was always interested in learning of Asgardian history, especially considering the fact that it was her heritage... or so she said. Loki wasn't interested so much in the lessons on Midgard, though there were some fascinating little topics... as he was Erica herself.

It was odd, really. She was a mere mortal, right? Nothing more than something he could utilize for his own whims. Except... she was not one to be manipulated. The woman met him blow for blow in intellect, and CONSTATLY standing up to Loki when he made threats. What made her so confident, only a mind-reader could truly answer. And this fascination with her has only grown over their time together. As of now he's known her for... four months. With every visit, Loki can do nothing but enjoy her company. He looks forward increasingly to his visits with Erica... which Loki found slightly disturbing.

But perhaps that is just because she is more tolerable than his idiotic non-brother. Or perhaps... tolerable wasn't the right more. Pleasant? Was that more accurate? Well it did SEEM to suit her well enough. Erica was_ pleasant. _And considering Loki's opinions on the mortal world, that was saying quite a bit.

Of course Loki didn't try and think about that too much. It could only lead to very... bad situations. Besides, today Loki had bigger issues. It was Thor's wedding, which he'd been dreading. Ugh, he did not want to see his brothers' happiness! Odin knows he boasts of it incessantly. Thor had been begging Loki to be his best man, and of course Loki had not been inclined to oblige. BUT... after much insistence... he caved.

Now here he stood, watching the blonde bastard revel in his joy... _misery. _UTTER misery. He kept his contempt hidden beneath a thin... very thin... venire of politeness. Loki kept a smile plastered on his face.

"Do you, Thor Odinson, take this mortal to be your royally wedded bride? In sickness and in health, for better or worse, as long you both shall live?" Odin asked, looking to the beaming groom.

"I do!" He exclaimed, the sound echoing through the corridors.

Loki rolled his eyes. _Is he REALLY this goddamn happy?!_

"And do you, Jane Foster, take this Asgardian man to be your royally wedded husband? In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?"

Quite timidly, Jane replied: "I.. I do."

"Then by the power vested in me as the Allfather, I now pronounce you husband and wife... you may kiss the bride."

And with that, Thor grabbed Jane around the waist in her silver dress, pulled back the veil, and kissed her. It was quite a theatrical display, it was like something out of one of those Midgardian romance films Erica hates so much. If she was here now, she'd be just as cynical. He remembered Valentines day, when she was near suffocated by all the romantic gush around them. It made him chuckle. She had quite a negative opinion of love, as it seemed. "_Love makes people act dumb... at least when it starts out. All these couples showering one another in kisses, chocolates and teddy bears... it makes me feel sick to my stomach! Especially the couples that baby-talk to one another. Geez, nobody wants to see your happiness!"_ She had said. He couldn't agree more. Loki shook his head. Why was he thinking about her at such a horrible time!

Their kiss broke, and the crowds cheered with joy.

"I love you." Jane said.

"And I love you, Jane." Thor replied.

_Oh for Gods' sake..._Loki thought viciously.

At their reception, the two were dancing quite gleefully, Jane laughing and smiling. Thors' big blue eyes were sparkling. Loki stood in the corner, just hoping for this all to be over. Time dragged on, unfortunately... Loki had an idea. As soon as the disgustingly happy couple cut their cake... the trickster made his escape. He needed to be around Erica. She was the only balm in this... nightmare inducing mush.

He thought he'd go unnoticed, Thor was too wrapped up in Jane to care about anything else. Except... at the wedding toasts...

"This is a wonderful day for all of my family!" Thor called, eyes looking over the adoring crowd. "I thank all of you for coming to this most joyous of days! To my father, for wedding us. To my mother, for supporting Jane in her adjustment, and especially to my brother Loki... for being my best man! Come stand and join me in this toast!"

Nobody made a move to rise. Thors' brow furrowed. "Loki?" He called.

Everybody was looking around. "Has anyone seen my brother?"

Nobody answered. _"Why has he left? And furthermore, where has he gone?"_ Thor thought, worried and hurt.

* * *

Erica was at home, cleaning one of her favorite sniper rifles. It had been quite a boring day, nothing of real interest going on. The assassin had taken this opportunity to do some maintenance work on all of her equipment. Cleaning old Russian gangster blood off of her knives, scrubbing out the gunk building up in the barrels of her guns... the usual spit-shine routine.

But at around nine, a knock came at the door. Erica put her rifle down, having a pretty good idea about who it was.

"Hey Loki." She greeted after opening the door.

Erica leaned against the frame casually, Lycan standing protectively behind her.

"May I come in? I need a drink."

"UH..." She looked to her coffee table, littered with gun parts. "Now might not be the best time. I'm kind of working..."

Loki sighed, looking rather irritated. "Please?"

The woman blinked. Did he just say...  
"Don't make me say it again."

"Alright. Your call." And with that, she stepped out of the way.

Loki strolled in, taking immediate notice of the furniture. "What's all this?"

"My work."

"You clean fire arms for a living?" She shook her head.

"No."

"Then what do you need with all this?"

She raised an eyebrow, closing the door behind her. "You REALLY want to know?"

"Yes, I find myself quite intrigued."

"Well if you must know, I'm a..." She lowered her voice. "I'm a contracted killer. An assassin."  
Loki simply smiled.

"So this is why you are unafraid of me? Because of your knowledge of weapons and experience with mortal death?"

"No." She replied. "It isn't."

"Oh? Then what is?"

At this, Erica changed the subject.

"It doesn't matter. What the hell do you need a drink for, anyways?"

Loki sighed. "Where do I even begin?"

* * *

_Four beers later..._

"So this WHOLE thing is about Thor getting married?"

"Yes."

"I mean... I understand it's overly-mushy and all but... WHY? Is it really that big of a deal?" Erica asked, taking a sip of her Budweiser.

Loki looked over to her, eyes glazed over with alcoholic influence. "The wedding was just the tip of the iceburg."

She rested her head against her hand, leaning in. "You don't say?"

"Yes. Thor... he just... gets to me."

"But WHY? Why do you have such... utter contempt for him?! What could he possibly have done to you? Is it a jealousy thing?"

Loki didn't speak. His mouth was formed into a hard line. The trickster appeared to be thinking.

"It is, in a sense. He was always the favorite child. The 'golden-boy' as you would put it. Father always put his needs, hopes, above my own. And it has caused endless jealousy... it's infuriating."

"But he's your_ brother_, for gods' sake!"

"NO HE IS NOT!" Loki blurted, practically yelling.

Erica didn't flinch, but her eyes did grow cautious... wide. She was no fool, Loki angry was only going to lead to trouble. She waited for him to calm down, breathing steadily returning to normal.

"What do you mean?" She asked tentatively.

"Nothing. I've said too much."

"... Alright. But don't think this is the end of this conversation."

This seemed to puzzle him. "You aren't going to push the subject?"

"Why would I? Obviously you aren't ready to talk about it... whatever that was... yet. I get it. I know the feeling." She explained.

"You do?" She nodded.

"All too well."

"Care to elaborate?"

She looked away. "Maybe you're not the only one keeping a secret."

"There's another one? I thought your career... really?"

Erica simply nodded. "Yeah. I guess we'll both talk about these secrets when we're... ready, so to speak."

"I suppose so."

"Great. Do you want another beer?"

Loki shook his head. "... No. Your Midgardian Alcohol is rather strong... I will give your society credit for that."

Erica chuckled. "Yeah. If there's one thing us mortals love, it's our alcohol."

Loki stood up, quite wobbly. Slowly he stumbled over to the door, grabbing the knob like a support. Erica stood up to help him, taking pity on the guy. Despite what some may believe, she wasn't completely heartless.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to Asgard."

"Like this?"

"Yes."

"No."

"What do you mean 'NO', Erica? You cannot make me do anything."  
"You're staying here. I refuse to let you go home like this." She stated, dragging Loki onto the couch.

As soon he was there, Loki fell tactlessly onto the furniture. "No... I am leaving..." He started to get up, but Erica held him there.

"Nope. Solly Challie. Friends do not let friends run around drunk. Especially if they are psychotic gods that you are afraid will kill somebody without sober self-control. And I am not going to be responsible for the deaths of innocent people and or Thor."

Loki laughed. "I do not plan on killing anybody."

"Says the god of lies."

EH... she had him there. "I really have no choice, do I?"

In his head, the gears of thought were turning. Loki was coming up with a devious plan... or what he thought was devious. Erica was straddling him, keeping him pinned to the couch. The beautiful, beautiful woman was staring down at him, full lips and blue eyes and soft skin... warm...

"Nope." Erica said with a smile.  
"Alright then."

This surprised her. "Wow, you're giving in that quickly?"

Now it was Loki's turn to smile. "Perhaps I am! It depends on what I get in return, though."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Erica inquired.

"THIS." Loki said before grabbing her face... and kissed her squarely on the lips.

AUTHORS' NOTE: THANKS FOR READING! HOPE THIS TURNED OUT ALRIGHT! ^^


	7. Chapter 7

"THIS." Loki spoke softly, almost teasingly.

Erica found that his lips were pressed to hers. It took a moment to process the fact that... Loki Laufeyson was kissing her. And in the same moment, almost by reaction, she attacked. She punched him in the face, kneed him in the stomach, and threw him to the hardwood... all in the span of a few seconds. Loki didn't even know what had happened before he was hurting and lying face first on the ground. The god found himself with his arms pinned behind his back. And it seemed... almost like there was no real time between their kiss and this predicament. This sobered Loki up pretty quickly.

"What in the HEL?"  
"DON'T. FUCKING. KISS. ME." Erica growled.

"How in the nine did you accomplish that?"

"None of your business." She replied sharply.

"Uh... actually... yes it is. You threw me on the ground."

"Remember our conversation about secrets?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Case and point."

Loki craned his neck to see the blonde above him. "Why did you kiss me?" She asked.

"Well I was drunk and you were beautiful... what choice did I have? And of course your lovely straddling me-"

Immediately she slammed his head back on the ground.

"Don't ever try that again, got it?"

"Got it, got it. May I get up now?"

"Are you going to kiss me again?"

"NO." He replied through his teeth.

"Alright then." She stood up, helping the battered god to his feet.

And immediately, Loki wrapped his arms around her waist, and once again kissed her. This time he held her there, keeping a steady grip on the back of Erica's head. One hand crept down to grasp the assassin's hip. So she was pressed firmly against Loki, though struggling through every moment.

Oh he wasn't letting her go this time. The beautiful Midgardian was too irresistible, he decided. Suddenly his mind was clouded by only one thought... Erica. She'd be his, if Loki had any say in it. Thor could keep his Jane... Erica was the true crowning beauty. His true beauty. And it seemed... oh my. Erica seemed to be giving in. Loki felt her hands grip at his shoulders, feeling the tense muscles beneath. She even opened her mouth, giving the god access to her tongue.

Things seemed to be going in the right direction until...

She bit down on Loki's tongue. "GOOWWW!" He screamed, pulling away instantly.

In his mouth, the tang of blood resided.

"What did I just say?!" Erica shouted.  
"You-" She didn't give him time to respond before Loki felt a fist collide with his face.

Suddenly he was on his back, left cheek throbbing. Now he was truly pissed. And in this instance, something very... odd happened. Loki propelled himself back onto his feet, grabbing Erica by the wrist. Only instead of defiance, Erica's expression read shock.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"What the fuck is up with your skin?" She asked quite simply.

Huh? Loki looked down to his hand.

Instead of normal pale flesh, Loki found that his skin was... oh god no... blue. Patterns were etched across the indigo flesh, traveling up his arms and... and to his face. Though there was no mirror, Loki assumed that his eyes were not the verdant green he was used to, but instead a terrifying crimson. He let go of her wrist, which had been badly burned. Though immediately it... it healed?

"What the actual fuck..." Erica stated.

Loki backed away. "I'm a monster."

The blonde approached him, no hint of fear... only curiosity.

"DO NOT LOOK AT ME!" Loki screamed, moving to cover his face with his cape.

"Loki..." But before she could get a word in, the god disappeared.

By the nine, what had just happened?!

* * *

_Asgard..._

Thor was pacing, impatiently waiting for Loki's return. The god had many words to say to his brother. Why had he left the reception, without even a word to anybody? What was the meaning of this?!

And, as if on cue, the mischievous god reappeared.

"Brother, where have you been? Why did you leave the ceremony?"

Loki did not reply, and appeared only shaken. He was looking down at his hands, seeming to be almost confused.

"Brother?"

"I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER!" Loki shouted, eyes going red for a split second.

"Loki... what is going on with you? What troubles you so?"

"Tis no concern of yours, Thor. I believe I have mentioned this."

"Yes, and I am sick to the teeth of this excuse. Now tell me, what is going on with you? Why did you leave?"

The dark haired Asgardian grew cold. "I did not assume that my presence would be missed."

"Of course it was. You are my brother, no matter what you may believe otherwise. Now please... PLEASE tell me what is bothering you!"

Loki did not answer. Instead he began storming off towards his room. Thor caught his hand. Loki did not wait for more words of pointless sentiment, merely pulling away and retiring to his chambers. There were many things the god had to think about. Why had he suddenly taken hold of Erica, for instance? What had driven him to kiss her so fiercely? And of course, why had his true form appeared?

Oh god, this was a disaster. Now Erica would think he was a monster forever! But... wait... why should Loki CARE?

* * *

Thor decided, the minute after Loki left, that something needed to be done. Loki was up to something, no doubt. And Thor was determined to figure out what it was. It was time to spy on his brothers' activities.

AUTHORS' NOTE... HOPE YOU ALL LIKED! THANKS FOR READING!


	8. Chapter 8

_Two Months Later..._

Loki had not gone to visit Erica after that fateful evening. He was too ashamed of his true self to return. God, how Loki despised his parentage. A race of monsters, hideous creatures they were. At the very least, the god had his mask of tan flesh. But now she had seen his true colors, quite literally. And Loki refused to watch her face twist in disgust at the sight of him.

As the poor mischief maker learned, after coming into contact with the Cask of Ancient Winters, his true form could come out at any time. Mostly it was triggered by moments of extreme anger. Why it had not come out during the battle of New York... well Loki suspected that when he'd fallen into the abyss, those that found him had put a spell over his body. But now it had worn off... Loki sighed. This was quite the unfortunate turn of events. Here he sat in melancholy while all others reveled in glory... it was the olden days all over again.

Only this time, Loki had no outlet. No Erica. No beautiful, strong, intelligent Erica.

And this, this horrid fact, was the worst of all. Once again, Loki was alone. Well, he supposed it was for the best. She would not want to be in his company now anyways. Yet... something kept telling the god to return to her. Some irrational part of his mind demanded that he speak with her again. Why? Who knew... maybe he just missed her.

NO! Loki refused to believe that a mortal could have such power over his every thought. It was humiliating... and furthermore impossible! She was enjoyable to be around, sure. Amusing, really. Just a relief from Thor's intolerable nature. Nothing more. The god stood and paced about his chambers, trying to cease thinking about the mortal. What did he ever see to be enjoyable about the woman, anyways? She was intelligent, sure, but that is not uncommon... though it is impressive.

Erica was beautiful, yes. Did that really matter... even if it was entrancing?

Sure she was the only woman who would stand up to him and show no fear... even the famous "Black Widow" could not accomplish that... but... huh.

A- alright well... FINE she was kind enough to take pity on him at his weakest, even after finding out his identity... however...

"Damnitt!" Loki cursed.

Ego be damned, he HAD to see her. There was no way around it. He could at least find out what she was... or explain what HE was. Plus... Loki could not take another day of Thor and Jane and their constant LOVE! It was nauseating! He stood, face set with determination. Thor, whom had been sitting with his Jane on a stone bench, caught Loki on the way out.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"It is no concern of yours, Thor."

He was about to stand up and follow him, but Jane took Thor's wrist.

"Thor, sweetie, leave him be. Whatever he's up to, it's not your problem."

"But what if-"

"IF he IS indeed up to something sinister, I'm sure Heimdal will catch it. Even if he can't see Loki, any disturbance around will alert him. Stop worrying so much."

Thor looked over to his direction, face contorted with concern. Jane kissed his hand.

"Come on, honey." She said sweetly. "How about I take your mind off of your brother?"

"How do you plan on doing tha-"

He looked to her, and immediately caught her meaning. Jane was looking up to him quite deviously, batting her eyes.

"Oh." She smiled.

Thor picked Jane up bridal style. Loki... eh he could be dealt with later.

* * *

Loki stood outside of Erica's apartment, fear gripping him. What horrid reaction would she have now? Would she meet him at the entrance with a gun? Slam the door in his face? Or just... calm down, Loki. Don't be a coward.

So, as if by command, he knocked. The minutes before she opened the door were the longest Loki had ever experienced. Finally the doorknob was turning..

Erica leaned against the door, arms crossed. He bit his lip.

"Where the hell have you been for the past couple months?" She asked plainly.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief. "Asgard."

"Why did you stop coming?"

"Why do you think?"

Erica stood away from the entrance, inviting him to come inside. Loki stepped back into the apartment that... seemed so familiar to him now. The woman closed the door behind them, strolling to sit in a nearby lounge chair.

"Now, do you mind explaining what happened that night?"

"I suppose I must." Loki replied, sitting down on the couch beside Lycan.

"What- what ARE you exactly?" Erica asked, no hint of the disgust or resent that Loki feared.

"Well... it's a long story. MY father... I believe I told you of the war with Jotunheim, did I not?"

She nodded. "That's the realm of the frost-giants, right? Your sworn enemies?"

"Yes. BUT... While he was there, Odin had found something more than the Casket of Ancient Winters. Knee deep in their blood, Odin found... well... me. I was a runt, quite useless to Laufey.. my- my biological parent. Odin took me to Asgard, where I grew up without knowing who- what I was."

"And when did you find out?" Erica asked, leaning in.

"Thor had tried to start another war with the Jotuns, dragging me along with him. While there, I was battling with one of the creature...my race... when one touched me. And instead of burning me, it turned my skin blue. At first I was deeply confused. But after touching the Casket, Odin found me and told me the truth. I found out that day that I was nothing but a monster children are told of in the night..." He trailed off, pain gripping him like an iron vice.

Erica sat in silence. "But... why would he take you?"

"He wanted to bring a new era of peace between our worlds... using me as a diplomatic tool."

Her brow furrowed. "That's unbelievably cruel. He could have at least told you from the beginning!"

"I said almost the exact same thing." Loki said.

"So that blue skin..."

"Is my true form." He finished.

"Can I... can you do that again?" Erica asked.

"What?!"

"Can you show me again?"

Loki didn't know to respond to that, exactly. She wanted to SEE his hideous natural state? "Why?"

"Just trust me, alright?" She spoke sweetly, voice softer than usual.

He was apprehensive. Loki bit his lip, thinking.

"Please?"

Looking up to her, Loki gave in. Forcing all of his concentration, Loki let the ruse of his normal appearance melt away, turning into something foreign... alien. Erica watched as his body morphed, pattens mapping themselves out and raising over Loki's skin. Eyes darkened and turned scarlet, the whites and green irises disappearing. She stood up, approaching this new version of him.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Erica's hands closed in around his face. Loki flinched. "Do not touch me..." He growled.

"Don't be a pussy." She replied.

And with that, her hands were cupping Loki's face. He gasped at the sudden, overwhelming heat of Erica's skin. Palms lifted, her fingers traced themselves along the swirls and lines, examining every exposed inch of the god with care.

"I'm a monster." Loki spoke, words bitter like poison.

"No... no you're not."

"I'm NOT? What do you mean?"

"You're... this it incredible." She sounded more in awe than anything. "It's beautiful, really."

Loki couldn't believe his ears. "Beautiful? Are you MAD, woman?"

"Just a little. But you are beautiful. I don't see why you'd be ashamed of this."

He examined her face, eyes, body language... anything that would indicate that this was not the truth. Maybe it was some cruel practical joke. Perhaps she was being sarcastic. But NO. If there was anything Loki was an expert in, it was lies. And Erica's eyes told the whole story.  
She meant what she said. And... oh god.

"I wouldn't bullshit you, you know. I'm not that stupid." Erica said, almost reading his thoughts.

Loki realized something... he had feelings for her.

Now she pulled away, and Loki watched as her hands healed from all wounds. "If you don't mind my asking.. what are YOU, exactly?"

She sighed.

"I suppose you deserve to know."

Erica stood, taking a deep breath. Her mouth opened... and two pearly white fangs sparkled. "You're a... a... vampire!"

"Half-vampire, actually. My mother is human... mostly."

"How is this possible?" Loki asked, almost in disbelief.

"Magic." She replied simply. "That's how my father always described it."

"And he's the vampire?"  
"Yes."

"Who... how old is he?"

Erica sat down beside him. "Remember how I said that I was of Viking blood?"

He nodded. "I meant that literally. My father is... was... a Viking prince, over a thousand years old. I'm named after him, actually."

"Well... who is he, exactly?"

"You might know him as Erik the Red. But... now he goes by a more normal name. My name is Erica Northman, daughter of Eric Northman. Nice to meet you."

Loki's jaw dropped. He was sitting not only with a woman who accepted him for who he was, but also a Viking Princess... yes, she would be HIS.

AUTHORS' NOTE: THANKS FOR READING! HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED!


	9. Chapter 9

"So you're a princess." Loki stated quite factually.

Erica sighed. "Yes. I'm a princess. A little Viking-Vampire-Fairy princess."

"Fairy?"

"My moms' side. She's part fairy. Comes from a royal clan... so I'm a princess on both sides of the family tree." She said this quite casually, as if she were speaking of the weather.

"Well... you have... an interesting parentage. What does it... enable you to do?" Loki asked, leaning in towards her.

"I have some of the same abilities as my father. Vampires can run at the exact speed of sound, according to some of my calculations. My strength and stamina are above average, and my healing time is extraordinary... as you've seen. And, this one is specific to my father, I can levitate... or fly." Erica explained. "From my mothers' side, I am able to go out in the day, plus live on normal human food instead of blood."

"And the fangs?" Loki asked hesitantly.

"What about them?"

"Do you ever need them? Are they triggered by anything?"

"If I'm seriously injured, I can use them to draw blood, which can heal me faster. And yes, they do have triggers. Anger... defense... or at will... and also if I'm turned on."

Loki raised an eyebrow. So if she's aroused, her fangs will come out? Hmm... that could be quite useful in the future. Of course there were many more questions he needed to ask her. One in particular was plaguing his mind.

"Why do you not talk of your family? What caused you to become so distant from them?"

Erica took a deep breath. Well, this had to come out eventually. The man had spilled his past, it was her turn now. Fair is fair, she supposed.

"We had some... disagreements, so to speak."

"Disagreements?"

"Yes."

"What about?" Loki inquired. Erica sat beside him.

"Several things. Nobody in my family is particularly happy about my career choice, for one. But that's not the main issue. You know everything that I just told you about myself... who I am?"

Loki nodded.

"Well, my mother never wanted anybody to know that. She told me for my entire life that I had to hide who I was... am. That it was something to be kept hidden, a secret. Nobody wanted to be around a girl who could rip their throats out. So I did. For eighteen fucking years, I hid everything that was abnormal about me. And that, evidently, meant acting like a completely different person on a twenty four hour basis." She paused.

This must have been painful for her. Keeping her heritage, identity, a secret... that could not have been easy.

"You know, in a way, I envy you Loki."

This statement took the god off-guard. "What?"

"Yeah, I mean... at least you didn't have to know what you were. I knew, good GOD I knew. You never had to lie about yourself... guess that proves the old saying, 'ignorance is bliss.' Of course... deep down you knew... I think everyone knows when there's something different about themselves... but still. I envy you for being able to act normal without trying to."

Her voice was lowered to a whisper by the end. "It was difficult for you growing up, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... but it's no big deal. At least you know why I don't talk to them. Because all I ever wanted to be accepted for who I was, truly. NOT what I was supposed to be. And unlike my mom, I'm not ashamed of my lineage. Never was. But I hid it, even from my closest friends. Now... here we are. You know the truth."

She did not speak for a long time after that. Loki looked her over, watching the lines of frustration, pent-up anger, ripple across her skin. Loki thought, and decided... maybe she was right. He WAS lucky for not having to keep it secret, just... living. At the same time, knowing what he was might have prevented a lot of problems in the future. Might have been easier to understand Odins' favoring of Thor.

But still, it made one think. What was worse? To know who you were and have to hid it, or to NOT know and live in ignorance?

"Are there any other drawbacks?" Loki asked at last, trying to make conversation.

"Yes." She replied.

"What are they?"

"... I... I can't have children. The vampire side prevented my eggs from being fertile."

"And is this... a disappointing fact to you?"

"You have NO idea." Erica replied bitterly.

So she actually wanted children? That came as quite a shock to Loki. A pleasant one, but still a shock. Erica did not seem to be the motherly type, then again he'd never seen Erica interact with young ones. So how could he be sure?

Something felt strange about this. Loki was not one to reveal himself, for ANY reason. Neither was Erica. Yet here they sat, pouring their hearts out to one another. It made Loki almost uncomfortable. He wasn't somebody you would keep your secrets with. Quite the opposite, quite frankly. The god of lies lives up to his title, after all.

And normally, conversations such as this, whether they be in literature OR film, disgusted him. What was so different about this? Somehow having a deep, personal discussion with Erica felt almost...

Natural. Like breathing.

Loki knew he had feelings for Erica, but this was still quite a shock. Erica was deeply disturbed... sharing her feelings just wasn't her thing. The past. Everything that tortured her psych. Ugh... something HAD to be wrong with this picture. This was something she'd think more about when alone, after Loki had gone to do whatever it was he did in Asgard.

Not now while he was with her. Though... they didn't know it, but... the two were mirroring their thoughts, which could be summed up to:

_Why am I spilling my life out for you? And furthermore, why does it feel so goddamn RIGHT?_

AUTHORS' NOTE: YEAH, THIS CHAPTER WAS A BIT BORING. BUT THANKS FOR READING ANYWAY! AND PLEASE, NOBODY FLAME ME ABOUT ERICA... I WARNED EVERYBODY IN THE BEGINNING THAT SHE HAD SECRETS!

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED ANYWAY! ^^


	10. Chapter 10

_July..._

Loki was going to visit Erica on yet another Midgardian holiday. Not that the god minded... well... not quite. Loki minded that he did not mind. Despite his affections for the mortal, the god still found it humiliating that he'd let himself fall so far. From despising the entirety of that pathetic race to... THIS... just irked Loki to no end. OH, and of course letting Erica see him for what he really was... the monstrous thing... was even more disconcerting. But to also pour his hardships out, explaining his pain to the mortal...

It was MADNESS! UTTER madness!

He sighed. This part of his brain screaming these truths, saying how Loki hated Midgard to the very core of his being, was no match for the rest of him calling to return. Every other part, from head to toe and everything between, yelled how Erica was something special... a rarity. An exception. Not only that, but she was NOT completely mortal. And she'd returned the favor and explained her life to Loki. Quite arguably the LEAST trustworthy person in the nine realms. All of this was causing the poor god to have an internal debate, nearly fighting his own body.

Thor was becoming increasingly worried for Loki, watching as he would stare into space for hours on end... breaking into a cold sweat. How he would mumble and growl to himself. Thor had given up on asking what was troubling him. It was quite clear that Loki would not tell.

Loki was bothered even more by the mere fact that all this was causing him _such_ distress! Wasting his precious thoughts upon a puny Midgardian...

Even if she did seem to accept him and still wish to be in his company. Even if she DID tell Loki her secret. Even if...

STOP! No more. Just go see the pathetic mortal and stop fretting like a child.

* * *

He met Erica outside of her apartment building, for once. She'd been standing there, leaning against the wall, for a good fifteen minutes. When Loki saw her, he nearly halted in all thought. It was the middle of summer, blistering heat claiming the citizens of this city. She stood in nothing but a bikini top, decorated with the American flag, and cut-off shorts. Which, Loki had to say, did NOT leave much to the imagination.

He watched each breath, the heaving of her chest and stomach. Every feminine line of muscle was exposed, toned and now tanned skin nearly driving Loki mad. And of course the sweat gleaming off of her navel wasn't doing him much good...

"Hey!" She greeted, walking over with a picnic basket and blanket. "I've been waiting for you, asshole."

"Apparently." Loki replied, a sly sneer forming on his face.

"Don't get any ideas. I'm only like this because it's hot as the devils' ass-crack out here, and with a body temperature of 101.5, my blood might as well be boiling in my veins. Plus don't forget what happened the last time you tried to kiss me." She warned.

As the pair began strolling towards Central Park, Loki asked: "What is this about such a high body temperature? I might be mistaken, but should you not be in a hospital?"

Erica stopped. "It's a... side-effect." Loki understood what she meant immediately. A side-effect of her vampirism.

"Ah."

Evening had fallen upon them, the sun gradually melting into the darkness. Above, crescent moon hung, accompanied by a star-dusted sky. Quite a clear night, actually. Erica was leading him to a wide open field, where quite a crowd of other mortals were gathered. Some where young lovers, others were elderly couples, yet still others were families. Young children ran amuck, carrying small sticks with gold light spraying out like fountains.

"What are those?" Loki whispered.

"Sparklers. A fourth of July tradition." Erica explained quietly.

Just then he noticed how her expression changed. As she looked upon the young ones, Erica's face read... longing. Hopelessness. Desire. Need. Despair. She watched with a small smile as one small girl held up her 'sparkler' in wonder, examining it with bright, blue eyes. Her small mouth was down in an 'o' shape... she could not have been more than three.

Erica sighed. Loki finally saw. She really DID want a child. Somehow seeing it, practically feeling it, made the notion a reality. Poor, barren Erica. Now she looked over to him.

"Cute, aren't they?"

"For mortals."

She smacked him in the back of the head. "They're goddamn adorable and you know it! I'm sick of this 'mortal' shit. Drop the attitude tonight, got it?"

Loki crossed his arms.

"And why should I?"

"Because this is a family holiday, and I will NOT have you pulling your shit tonight. So just behave and enjoy the fireworks."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are these fireworks, prey-tell?"

The blonde's head snapped. "Are you KIDDING? You don't have fireworks in Asgard?"

"No." Loki confirmed.

"Oh you poor deprived bastard. Don't worry, tonight will rectify that. The fourth is all about the bing-bang-boom. And in Central park-" She whistled. "You're getting one hell of an introduction."

She settled on an empty space of grass, placing the large checkered blanket down before them. The basket was set beside Loki's feet before the two sat down. Erica had chosen quite an excellent site, too. There were no trees obstructing their view. She pulled out the KFC they'd be eating, handing Loki a wing. He took it apprehensively, never having seen fried chicken before.

But once the god bit down... mmm.

Delicious. Erica was taking quite a chunk out of her wing, mouth near busting with food. And Loki found this... so endearing. 'Adorable' as Midgardians would say. They had finished their meal by the time Erica began to look towards the sky.

"What are you looking-" Loki began.

"SHH!" She commanded. "Their starting."

"What-" But his question was cut short by the sound of the first firework exploding.

His eyes were held at full attention. Loki was mesmerized. Dazzling lights danced across the sky, flickering in different colors. As another sped into the night, the ground below boomed with force. It could be felt in one's chest, traveling all the down to their toes. Almost like a child, Loki couldn't help but stare. Despite all its' flaws, Midgard could put on quite a show.

Beside him. Loki heard Erica laugh. He snapped out of it long enough to gaze at her.

"They're beautiful, I know." She said, answering his thoughts. "That's the amazing thing about fireworks. No matter who you are, where you come from... age, race, whatever... fireworks always captivate you. Everybody just... stops... comes together for a few minutes. It really brings out the nature of the Holiday."

Suddenly Loki had a question.

"What exactly IS this holiday about? I understand Christmas, it's a religious gathering. The same can be said with Easter. New Years is a celebration of Earths' rotation around the sun. Valentines' day is a commercialization of love and an excuse to engage in consumerism. But what is THIS celebrating?"

Erica sighed, sitting up.

"Well, this country quite a colorful history. We used to be ruled by the British, but once they became tyrannical over us, we retaliated. July the Fourth, 1776 was when America officially gained independence." She explained.

"So this is a celebration of..." He started.

"Freedom." She finished, looking back up to the fireworks.

Loki was unsure how to respond to that. Freedom? _Freedom?! _The very ideal Loki had fought against?! And yet here he was, sitting and celebrating the very thing he hated most! OH THE STUPIDITY! He was about to storm off, disgusted by this whole thing... but...

He looked around. All the people were sitting in silence, watching the light-show. Most were huddled together, families and lovers, friends and enemies... just watching. Loki looked down, back at his companion. And he-he was stunned. Now shimmering with sweat, the distorted light the fireworks bounced off Erica's skin. She lay on her back, one leg bent at the knee... so sensual... so beautiful... fireflies dancing around her form.

And to top it all off... swimming in those enormous blue eyes was the full reflection of those awe-inspiring things in the sky. Oh that was just TOO MUCH!

Loki couldn't take it. He laid on his back, near panting. Loki felt his body literally fight against itself, he tried to choke back the sudden warmth flooding his every nerve. Inside, his brain replayed the images of his precious Erica, from the cold night they'd met, to her touching his unmasked face, to a few moments ago, her laying to teasingly with fireworks in her eyes.

"Loki?" Erica called in a concerned voice. He couldn't even answer.

The god clutched at his hair, as if ripping it out by the roots would awaken him from this nightmare. In his chest, Loki's heart was pounding. By Odin, NO! Do NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!

She leaned over him, worry filling her eyes. Erica was genuinely concerned. "Are you alright?" She asked. Loki tried to squeeze his eyes shut, drive away this dreadful feeling.

But Erica wouldn't let him. "Look at me, you asshole! Tell me what the fuck is happening to you!" She demanded.

Ah, she was never one for coddling. Which was one of the many things Loki admired... no, adored, no... liked...

_Love, _The word flitted across his mind. _You love about her. You LOVE her, do not deny it. _

"HEY!" Erica screamed.

Finally Loki opened his eyes. His entire vision was taken up by this beauty, angelic face and filthy mind, this monster that accepted him. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is when he gave in. Loki relaxed, letting it course through his tired veins like a wildfire through a dry forest. He was done fighting.

Loki sighed. Damn it all, he'd fallen. Head over heels. Loki Laufeyson was in love.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Loki nodded. "I'm fine. Everything is completely fine." He assured her. Only Loki knew the double meaning in his words.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED! THANKS FOR READING!


	11. Chapter 11

A month later, and Erica had not heard from Loki. Ever since that little freak out during the fireworks, he'd been practically avoiding her. What the HELL happened that night? Did Loki have some sort of weird seizure from the flashing lights? Wait a minute, can gods even have epilepsy?... Probably not. Maybe it was just one of those odd things he did from time to time. The god of Mischief had to be pretty unpredictable, right?

Why should she be worried, anyway? The dude could handle himself, and he'd been gone for longer periods of time than this. Then again, the last time he wasn't around was because of her seeing his true form... oh whatever. Besides, she'd had the time to work on more missions. And made another fifty grand in the process! Woo-hoo! Income! Her life seemed to be getting back to normal... until one August day after she'd returned from Afghanistan...

* * *

Erica walked into her apartment, throwing her duffle bag onto the ground. Ah, it was good to feel some central air on her face again. Sweating, disgusting, not having bathed for a week straight, Erica began stripping on her way to the bathroom. From tank-top to dirty socks, clothes were strewn about the hardwood. Lycan was following his owner, sniffing the nasty garments. Erica had picked him up from the kennel on her way home.

"Go lay on the couch, Lycan." Erica commanded.

He gave a small whine of protest, wanting to be with his owner. "Go on, lay down."

Begrudgingly, the dog hopped up on the furniture.

And with that, Erica finished disrobing and headed for the shower. Hot water pounded down her back, soothing her aching muscles and washing away the dirt from her now sun-soaked skin. It had darkened, turning a delightful tan out in the desert. Grabbing her body wash, Erica scrubbed away all of the stench and sweat that clung to her flesh. She massaged shampoo into her now bleached hair, turned near white from a week in the sun. Shaving, her legs were smooth again. Armpits, too. As an afterthought, Erica brushed her teeth, including those infamous little fangs.

When she finally stepped back into the hallway, it was BEYOND refreshing. Cool air hit her, in great contrast to that sauna of a bathroom.

"Ahh, that feels SO much fucking better." She breathed.

The blonde took her disgusting clothes and placed them in the hamper by the edge of her bedroom closet. After re-dressing in an over-sized Pink Floyd T-shirt and silk pajama shorts, the exhausted assassin collapsed onto the ebony sheets of her bed.

Erica was just about ready to crawl into bed and just fucking PASS OUT, when a noise disturbed her. Lycan was growling outside. "Shit." Erica mumbled into her pillow.

She knew better than to ignore Lycan growling at something. Considering both the company she keeps and her career, Erica wasn't about to take chances just because she needed a nap. The dog was hunched over by the guest room (next to the bathroom and closest to the living room), ears pinned down to his skull. His teeth were bared, eyes intent.

"What is it, Lycan?" Erica asked, leaning down.

He put his nose to the door. "Is somebody in there that shouldn't be?"

Standing, Erica looked intensely at the white door. "Loki?" she called.

That would only be logical, right? Who else could have gotten in without Lycan alerting her immediately with barking? She received no response. This could just be more of his mischief, though. "Loki if that's you, I swear to God!" Erica threatened.

No answer. She sighed. The only choice was to investigate. Looking back to her dog, she spoke. "Cover me, alright boy?" Lycan gave a small bark of understanding. Slowly, but surely, Erica inched in. And what did she find inside that little square room, once she turned on the light? Well, things could only be 'normal' for so long, right?

It was a child's room. The walls painted a delicate blue, something an expectant mother would get for her unborn son. Above there was a model solar system, all the planets and moons held up by clear strings. The sun was the light that illuminated everything. Erica would have found it kind of cute were it not for the circumstances. Stepping further in, she found that the hardwood had been replaced by plush, electric green carpet. Beside her was a dark wood toy-box, nearly overflowing with all the items inside. On the right-side wall were large shelves, full of children's books and movies. And opposite of her... was a bed. A toddlers' bed.

"Mommy?" A tiny voice called.

Erica held a hand to her mouth. Suddenly a small boy popped up, walking over to the stunned day-walker. She crouched down. He had large, chocolate brown eyes that seemed to sparkle with wonder. His hair was dark and curled, overflowing on his little square head. The child was dressed in a set purple flannel pajamas.

"Whaz rong, mommy?" The boy asked in his toddler speak.

_This has Loki written all over it. _Erica thought. _God, where did this boy come from? Did Loki steal him? who IS this little one?_

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the Avengers Tower..._

Tony was wandering around the lounge, trying to find a certain somebody who was supposed to be with him down in the lab. It seemed as if the guy just fucking disappeared. Tony had been ALL over the goddamn tower at this point.

"Bruce?" He called.

"BRUCE?!"

After about five minutes, Steve came upstairs to see what all the noise was about. His pregnant wife, Jasper, followed.

"What's going on?" Steve asked.

"Has anybody seen Banner?"

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL LIKED! THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORTING!


	12. Chapter 12

Erica was frozen, mind racing with the possibilities that Loki brought with giving her this child. Little thing couldn't have been older than two. Where did he come from? Oh god, what if he was stolen from his home!? Why was he calling her _mommy_? Brainwashed, perhaps? It didn't seem unlikely, it was something Loki would probably do. But WHY? Jesus, this was quite a new level of fucked up. Somehow the child seemed familiar... but how could that be? Erica was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Lycan coming in to investigate. The ebony canine walked past her, sniffing the little boy with apprehension.

"Doggy!" The child squealed in delight, wrapping his little arms around Lycan.

This was enough to shake Erica out of her utter disbelief. Mainly it was for fear for the kid, she worried that her protective pet would hurt him. But...

Lycan laid down, letting the boy snuggle into his neck. The child giggled, grabbing at his ears... and Lycan was letting him. Erica had never really seen his behavior around children, so... this was actually a pleasant surprise. She smiled as Lycan licked the toddlers' face. "Eww." The child said, making a mock-disgusted face.

Erica sat down next to the pair. She, since she could rationally think, decided that if she was going to get any answers, asking the kid was probably the best place to start.

"Where did you come from, little guy?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"Where are your mommy and daddy?"

He pointed to Erica. "YOU my mommy. Daddy not here."

"Where IS daddy?" She asked through clenched teeth, having a pretty good idea who 'daddy' was.

"Aska."

"Huh?"

"Aska." The boy repeated.

Suddenly it clicked. "Asgard?" The little guy nodded, curls bouncing on his head. " Yeah-huh! Aska! Daddy in Aska!"

Yep, this poor child was brainwashed. Hmm... how could she figure out where he was from? "What's your name?" Erica inquired.

It seemed like the next logical question to ask. She couldn't just keep calling him 'little guy' or 'toddler' all the time. Unless Loki wiped THAT clean of the poor kids' memory too. Erica wouldn't put it past him.

"You my mommy, you know it."

_Shit._ Thought Erica. Hmm... "Of course I do! But do YOU know your name?"

The child removed himself from the dog, who pouted, and crossed his arms. "Yeah HUH!"

"Prove it." Erica challenged, a mock-smirk spreading over her face.

"My names' Boose!"

Erica assumed that translated to _Bruce._ Well at least Loki didn't take everything. The question was, when you boiled it all down to its' simplest terms... WHY!? Was Loki completely and totally out of his goddamn mind!? Wait, she answered her own question. Of course he was. But this... ugh. Erica made a mental note to kick his ass when he came around. But that was for later. What does she do NOW?

Hmm... well... Erica thought. Maybe she could try checking the news, seeing if any missing child reports came up. Even though it wasn't clear how long the kid had been gone. At the same time, due to his age, his parents probably would file a missing persons' case early. Missing toddlers weren't exactly suspected of sneaking out of the house. Plus with the speed online sites had... A light-bulb went off in her head.

God bless the internet.

"Listen, Bruce, mommy's gonna go check her computer. You stay here and play for a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Quite adorably, Erica watched Bruce toddle over to the toy-box, getting up on his tip-toes to reach in.

"Here." Erica offered, reaching in and grabbing a little Hulk action figure. "How's this?"

Bruce tossed it to the floor, a look of distain on his chubby little face. "NO!"

Erica raised an eyebrow. What, Bruce didn't like superheros? "What's wrong with the Hulk?"

"He evil! No like!" Bruce protested, stomping his little bare foot onto the carpet.

"Alright. I'll find you something else."

Erica began digging through all the toys, tossing some out so she could get a good look at all of them. From plastic dinosaurs to mega-blocks, Nerf guns to beanie-babies, match-box cars to remote control planes... Jesus H. Christ, Loki! This wasn't even about the ridiculous amount of playthings, though it WAS ridiculous. Did he even KNOW the appropriate toys for a toddler? Okay, the action figures and beanie babies weren't too bad... but remote control planes? MATCH BOX CARS!? Toddlers EAT that kind of shit!

Well... some do. Erica didn't know how much Bruce knew about the world, or what not to eat. But she made a note to get rid of some this stuff, just to be on the safe side. She didn't want to be responsible for his death, after all. Some poor mother would be heart-broken, and Erica would never forgive herself. Anyway, she was just about to start putting stuff back when...

"OOH! OOH!" Little Bruce called. Erica turned.

"What is it, cutie-pie?"

"Dis one!" He said, holding up a little plush Ironman.

"You like Ironman?"

In response, little Bruce held the plushie over his chest, cuddling it like a teddy-bear. The little guy had a huge smile on his face, a look of complete and total adoration. ADORABLE, irresistible adoration.

"Aww." Erica mumbled. "Okay, you play with Ironman while mommy go looks at her computer."

"Ok."

Quickly, the assassin put the rest of the toys back and went to her computer. She typed in_ 'Recent Missing Children Reports.'_

There were about eighty billion results, as per usual. But of course,ALSO as usual, there were about five reliable sites. Sighing, Erica searched through each one, typing in names, descriptions, anything she could think of that would give away Bruce's real identity. And... nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada. None. Nothing even came close to the little one in her bedroom.

This made her re-think things. If he hadn't been reported missing, that meant one of three things.

ONE: Loki fucked with the internet and wasn't letting her efforts prove fruitful.

TWO: The parents haven't found out yet, or Loki brainwashed them too.

THREE: Loki did something she wasn't considering.

Any of these options seemed possible. It seemed, as of now, she was stuck. Erica couldn't contact his parents, didn't even know where the kid came from. Shit. So she'd have to take care of Bruce for a while. Maybe she could wait a couple days to see if any reports come up... or wait for Loki to come and make him explain what the HELL was going on.

In the background, Bruce was giggling hysterically. Erica smiled helplessly, in spite of herself. Taking care of a child for a couple days wasn't too bad. Even if the God of Mischief stole a baby, at least he was in a good place. She'd be a good, responsible dent-mother. For the parents' sake of course.

* * *

_Three Days Later:  
_"Watch out Bruce!" Erica warned, a little sticky foam dart flitting across the toddlers' vision.

He shrieked in delight, ducking as the ammo hit the wall behind him. Immediately he shot his own Nerf gun, hitting poor Lycan in the nose. The old dog stalked off to the other room, with an attitude that just screamed '_I am TOO OLD for this shit!'_

Erica and Bruce had been playing 'Nerf Wars' for about two hours. This day had been full of activities, including some crafts that ended with the duo being coated in glitter. The living room, (as well as the bedroom) floor was littered with toys, some of which Erica had replaced. Yesterday consisted mainly of watching just about every Disney/DreamWorks movie known to MAN. And damn it all if Erica hadn't enjoyed every last moment of it.

The cute little boy took advantage of Lycan's absence, clambering up the furniture and resting on the arm. There he sat, little yellow toy pointed straight at Erica.

"Fweeze!" Bruce commanded.

Erica put up her hands, dropping her weapon in mock-horror. "Uh-oh! The might Bruce got me!" She looked around, feigning fright. "I need a HERO!" She said dramatically.

And just then, a gleeful Loki appeared behind Bruce, snatching him up by the waist. "I shall save you from this fiend, fair maiden!"

Bruce squealed, legs flailing. Erica, at her vampire speed, grabbed her Nerf gun and hit Loki directly in the forehead. Bruce laughed like a itty-bitty maniac, pointing at the god. Loki stared up to his lady-love, giving her a look that said: 'I'm-so-very-proud-of-myself-it's-nauseating'. Erica met his cockiness with pure and utter malice.

Snatching up Bruce, Erica nearly growled at her companion. "_What. Do you think? You're DOING?"_

Loki sat back, resting his head against his arms. "I'm watching you be happy."

"HI DADDY!" Bruce called, waving frantically.

"Hello, child. You look quite happy."

"Yeah-huh. Mommy's fun!"

"Is she now?"

Bruce nodded. "We payed awwlll day! Looky! Spakles!"

He held out his hands, dazzling spectacles of green glitter. "Indeed." Loki's self satisfies smirk was driving Erica up a wall.

She was about to wipe it off his face when she remembered the child in her arms. "Brucey-goosey? Mommy and Daddy need to talk. You go bug Lycan."

"Oky!"

And with that, the little one scrambled off to torture the dog. "I see you are enjoying my gift." Loki said.

"I. AM. GOING TO. FUCKING. KILL. YOU." The blonde threatened, jabbing a finger at his chest. The god simply smiled.

"You know, it is VERY hard to take you seriously when your hair is full of sparkles. My my, Erica, you look positively adorable!"

"I am_ physically_ straining not to rip your nuts off." Erica said with a dead-serious tone and matching poker face. "Who's kid did you steal?"

Loki replied: "I have not stolen anybody's 'kid.' "

"Then who the FUCK DID you steal?" Erica struggled to keep her voice down, not wanting to alert the child of their impending fight.

"You do not want to know."

"I beg to differ."

"Really, you don't-"

"LOKI!" She interrupted.

"Alright, alright." Loki smiled. "It's a funny story, actually..."

AUTHORS' NOTE: THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED!


	13. Chapter 13

"Bruce _Banner?!"_ Erica nearly screamed.

"Yes."

"The HULK?!"

"Yes." Loki confirmed.

"Tony Starks' best friend?!"

"Again, yes." Loki shot her a self-satisfied smirk.

Oh GOD, this was a disaster. Loki sure as hell didn't steal somebody's kid. No, no he went for something a lot worse. The god had stolen one of the most famous superheros, turned them into a child, THEN stole them. Jesus, this was bad. This was horrible, actually. And Erica just could NOT understand why he would do such a thing!

"WHY?!"

"Why what, exactly?"

"WHY DID YOU STEAL BRUCE BANNER?!"

"I was simply providing you with the child you wished to have. Turning the monster into a child was simple revenge for smashing me into the floor."

"Yeah... well... do you KNOW how much trouble you could get in for this?! You're in some seriously deep shit, Loki." Erica explained quite matter-of-factly.

The god simply shrugged. Wh-what was the matter with him? Didn't he care about the consequences for this type of thing? Because lord knows there were going to be some consequences. How could she make him understand?!

Erica grabbed Loki by his shoulders.

"Have you gone bat-shit _insane?!"_

Loki smiled. "I thought that was well-established, Erica."

She groaned. "Look, maybe you're too out of your fucking mind to realize what you've done, but I'M NOT. Loki, this is BAD."

"Oh calm down."

"NO! Loki, god damn it, will you listen to me?! If The Avengers find out, and they will, we're going to have government agencies so far up our asses that we'll be coughing up shit!" Another thought occurred. "Not to mention, if Thor gets wind of this, you are going to be imprisoned for the rest of your life!" Erica frantically explained, anxiety creeping into her every syllable.

Loki met this with a sarcastic: "Aw, I am truly touched, Erica. I did not know that you cared!"

"Of course I care, you asshole! Despite how _extremely_ pissed off I am at you, I don't think I could live with seeing your sorry ass being carted away by Men In Black!" Erica blurted.

Loki, in spite of himself, really was touched. Though Erica was not the most talented at expressing her feelings, she was willing to admit that she cared about what happened to him. And Loki knew, even if the blonde was not going to admit it, that she had feelings for him. It wasn't just his own narcissism talking, either. If she was THIS panicked at the idea of him being imprisoned forever, there must be more to it than what she's leading on.,

But, finally getting to the heart of it all, she stated:  
"We have to take him back. NOW."

"Why?" Loki asked. "I thought you liked children."

Erica couldn't really respond to that for a minute. It was as if he hadn't been listening to a word she'd said for the past five minutes. Taking a deep breath, she spoke calmly:

"He doesn't belong here. He isn't really a child. The Avengers and the Government are going to kill us. Plus if you don't take him back, I will."

"Could you?" Loki asked.

Erica crossed her arms. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"

"I mean, could you REALLY take him back? Is the child not happy here?"

"He is, but-" Erica didn't get the chance to finish before Lycan came running back in, Bruce behind him. He must have heard them... Erica had to admit that she'd gotten a bit too loud.

The toddler took one look at them and asked: "Mommy, daddy... you fiting?"

Bruce looked scared, big brown eyes full of worry. Almost like... he'd seen this before. Maybe he'd had some bad experiences with this in his childhood. Poor kid was positively shaking. And it just about broke Erica's heart. Besides, two-year-olds shouldn't see their families fighting... even if it ISN'T their real family.

"No, no, of course not cutie-pie." She assured.

Loki smiled. She truly did care for children. "Sure?" Bruce asked apprehensively.

In a spontaneous effort to sooth the little one's worries, Erica wrapped her arms around Loki's waist in a big hug. With a small smirk, Loki took advantage of this and brought Erica's face up for a kiss, ending it with a triumphant 'smack'.

"See, child, we are not angered with one another." Loki backed his companion up, smiling down at her.

"_I hate you." _Erica hissed, so low that the toddler couldn't hear.

"_Worth it."_ Loki replied.

This seemed to calm Bruce down, because he relaxed pretty quickly. "Oky." And with that, the little one ran off with the dog.

Sighing, Erica punched Loki in the arm. "OW!"

"Serves you right." The blonde paused. "Alright, how about this? We'll keep him for the rest of the day. But tonight, we take him back to the tower and erase his memory of ALL this."

"You are not going to compromise any further, are you?" Loki asked.

"Nope."

"Fine. Tonight. But let us make this last day a pleasant one. I wish for you to have fond memories of this taste of motherhood."

Erica shook her head, exasperated. "I will never understand your crazy ass."

"You bothered to try?"

* * *

_That evening..._

Loki had remained for the rest of the day, spending all his time playing father to the little monster. He still harbored much resentment towards Bruce, but Loki was not going to harm a toddler. Contrary to popular belief, he was not such a heartless bastard. Besides, Erica would strangle the god before any child of hers was to be injured.

It was fascinating, really. Seeing such a sarcastic, tough-skinned warrior of a woman be like THIS was... was mind-boggling. Here she was, watching The Lion King for the umpteenth time, her arms wrapped lovingly around a sleeping child. Bruce had been 'out cold' as Erica put it for a half-an-hour, his head resting firmly on her chest. And, as moronic as it was, Loki help but finding himself a bit jealous.

The film drew to a close, and Erica set forth a saddened sigh. Loki smirked.

"You do not WANT to let him go, do you?"

Her head snapped in his direction. "Of course not! But I know it's selfish to keep Bruce here, where he SO obviously does not belong."

"But you can give him a wonderful home, Erica. This is your chance to have what you desire most."

Her gaze narrowed, and she stood. Bruce's head rested against her shoulder as she shifted the placement of her hands. "Take us to the tower, Loki."

She didn't understand Loki's sudden mission to make her happy, and frankly, she didn't want to. Erica trusted Loki's motives about as far as she could throw him. Wait... she could probably throw him pretty far...

Erica trusted Loki's motives about as far as she could throw Milnjoir. That's a more accurate comparison. Begrudgingly, the god began to cast his spell. A strange mist floated about them, entrapping them in white sightlessness. Bruce didn't rouse, much to Erica' relief. Parting was going to be hard enough as it was without the child giving her big 'Mommy-don't-leave-I-love-you' puppy dog eyes.

Slowly the mist dissipated, and the three were in a darkened apartment. A large, circular bed lay in its' center, freshly made. Beside it there was a box of incense, and something that looked suspiciously like a big bag of weed.

"This is Bruce's floor, isn't it?" Erica asked suspiciously.

"Yes. Now I suggest you say your goodbyes, for the security cameras will catch us soon."

Nodding, she gently placed the toddler onto the bed. There he lay, spread out on his stomach with his little hands clutching the sheets. Erica pulled back the covers to tuck baby-Bruce in, as she had done for the past few nights. She leaned down, stroking his soft, curly hair.

"Goodnight, cutie-pie." She whispered, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

As she stood, Loki had her transported back to her apartment before she could ask any further questions. The blonde beauty disappeared, leaving only the mischievous prince and the snoozing toddler. Suddenly, Loki had an idea. One final prank against the Avengers.

"Ehehe." He cackled, picking up the baby boy.

* * *

_In The Morning..._

Tony yawned, the early morning sun hitting his eyes. Ugh, sunshine was a bitch to the hung-over. Tony had been drinking a lot more since Bruce disappeared. Despite what most seemed to think, Tony cared a lot about his friend. They'd hit it off extremely well, even the Hulk taking a shine to him. And the two had gotten even closer since he and Pepper had broken up.

What the HELL happened?

The genius stretched in his empty bed, or... what he thought was empty. One hand hit a wall of warmth. Feeling about, the appendage registers... FLESH? Hesitantly, Tony turned his head. There, sleeping beside him, was a mostly naked Bruce Banner.

"BRUCE!" Tony shouted in surprise and happiness.

"GAH! Wha-ah!" Bruce, startled by this sudden awakening, found himself falling onto the floor.

"Where the HELL have you been, Bruce?! We've been worried sick about you! Furthermore, why are you in my bed?"

"I-" He rubbed his head, standing up. "I don't know. One minute I was in my room, getting ready for some nightly 'medication'... now I'm here." He paused. "Jeez, I gotta stop smoking that weed. I don't know what I did last night-"

"Last NIGHT? Bruce, you've been gone for _three goddamn days!" _Tony corrected... interrupted... whatever.

The doctors' eyes widened. "I REALLY need to stop smoking that weed, then."

"I think this was Loki."

"... That too." Bruce agreed. "In that case I think we need to have a serious conversation with Thor."

"Couldn't agree more. I don't want to wake up next to random people... I thought that shit was over in my thirties."

"And I don't want to forget extended periods of time, then wake up next to psychotic geniuses." Bruce added.

"You mean there are OTHERS?!" Tony said dramatically. "Who have you been cheating on me with?! Was it that bastard Richard Reeds?!" Bruce groaned.

"I'm serious. Get the others up, we need to have a meeting." Tony scowled.

"FINE... you're no fun."

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE EVERYONE LIKED! THANKS FOR READING!

SEE YOU ALL NEXT CHAPTER!


	14. Chapter 14

Loki hadn't contacted Erica in a couple weeks... well at least not _physically. _By that she meant that he hadn't shown up. But... other things seemed to. This probably meant that Loki was violating the 'DON'T BREAK INTO MY APARTMENT' rule, but hey, what was she going to do? It started the morning after he returned Bruce to his rightful home. Erica went to the fridge to find...

A cask of Mead?

_Dearest Erica, consider this an apology. Which is rare... I don't apologize. Considering your heritage, I supposed you might find this to your liking._

_P.S. - It's quite strong. I might have lied about the effect of Midgardian beer as an excuse to kiss you senseless. And I'm being honest too, look at that. _

_-Loki _

Erica just sort of stared blankly at the piece of paper Loki had written on.

"This is a whole new level of strange, even for Loki." She mumbled.

Now, Erica wasn't usually one for handouts, especially things that are meant to be 'an apology'. And of course the fact that Erica didn't trust Loki at all didn't help. But FREE Mead? That was one thing the princess couldn't pass up.  
"Bottoms up." She said.

Despite it being around nine in the morning, Erica decided she was going drink up. Loki had pulled a pretty dumb-ass move, one that could have gotten them imprisoned forever. She needed a goddamn drink.

"Hmmm..." The assassin moaned into the glass.

God, that was amazing. Sweet, spiced liquid ran down her throat and lit her stomach aflame. Like drinking liquid lightning. Of course Loki might not be too appreciative of that comparison. Even so, it was the truth. And the effects were _immediate._ The cloudy feeling in her head, a sense of slight euphoria, came almost instantaneously. She had to plop onto the couch just to keep herself from falling over.

Taking another swig, Erica's condition doubled in power. The whole thing was making her giggle hysterically. Her head was swimming! Looking over to Lycan, Erica commented

"'Spite the dumm shit Lo'i does... I tink I can for'ive for it. Cause DIS righ heya, DIS is da necta' of da godsss..." And then she laughed harder. "Li'rilly!"

And after a third drink, the princess was out cold.

* * *

The second gift came right on the fifth night after "The Bruce Incident' as Erica so affectionately called it. After returning home from a mission in Germany, Erica was ready to pass out on the couch. Only, when she looked on the coffee table, there was a rectangular box. Giftwrapped, all green and gold.

"Loki." She stated simply. "What did you get me this time?"

Erica was almost afraid to look. First it was a babified Bruce Banner, then Mead that could knock her out in three swigs, what other shenanigans did he plan on pulling? But, almost knowing she had no choice, Erica walked over and set the box on her lap. Despite it's relatively small size, (no bigger than something you'd put clothes in), there was considerable weight to it.

Bracing herself, Erica tore away the wrapping paper, threw the lid off, and found her present.

It was a fur cape. Purest white, challenged only by a few streaks of tan, and soft as a kitten. The inside was the finest black leather, smooth and durable. The cape was fastened by circular tassels and a gold chain. The tassels were beautifully decorated with celtic knots, etched into the metal.

And it was beautiful. But that wasn't all.

After pulling out the cape, Erica discovered a finely woven gold dress. Chic, its bodice loose and low, and the skirt flowing down like a waterfall of gold. And, like the Mead, it came with a note.

_I took the time to have this cape and dress custom-made by Asgardian tailors. Something to compliment your beauty. _

_-Loki_

"Ugh." She groaned.

The cape was awesome, but there was no way in all holy Hel that she was going to wear that dress. Erica didn't do dresses. They restricted movement and... well they were just plain GIRLY. And if there was anything that Erica was not, it was girly. And of course there was the question of:

"WHY Loki?" She asked to the empty air, wishing for some type of answer.

* * *

And that was basically the gist of how her life was for next two and a half weeks. A dress showed up here, a new sniper rifle there (okay, that was actually cool), some more Mead, and some random pieces of jewelry.

Not that she'd ever wear that, either.

Hell, Loki even got Lycan a leather collar with a gold tag! And with every single one, a note came. Erica really didn't know what to do with herself after a while. How much longer could this kind of thing go ON?!

_Meanwhile..._

Thor had been called into a meeting with his fellow Avengers to discuss the recent incident with Bruce. And, after about twenty minutes of Tony ranting, they came to a decision. Loki was to be spied on until it could be determined WHAT his whereabouts on planet Earth were. And for about two weeks, it seemed, Loki had been relatively good.

Nobody was missing, nobody lost their memory, all seemed peaceful.

When he was in Asgard, Loki seemed much... cheerier? It was odd, but not harmful. At worst, Thor had lost Loki in the marketplace a couple times. But that was it.

That is until one August afternoon, two and a HALF weeks into the peaceful time. All good things must come to an end, correct?

* * *

Erica had woken up later that morning, having gotten to bed quite later the night previous. Yawning, the blonde sat up in bed, feeling quite rested. She padded her way into the hallway. Somehow the air felt... cooler... than before. Huh. Not that Erica was going to complain, she'd been sweating like a pig all summer. A break from that was quite welcome.

The dog was dozing on the couch, feet up, snoring loudly. Erica rolled her eyes at the beast.

"Weird fucking dog." She mumbled.

The apartment was dark, the curtains drawn. In the mornings, Erica kind of liked to have the sun out of her eyes. Too early and it'd give the girl a headache. After heading to the kitchen and getting some cereal, she plopped down into a lazy chair. Quite frankly, Erica was relieved that nothing Loki-related had popped up yet. It was something she'd come to expect. So she reveled in the comfortable silence of her apartment, enjoying her fruity pebbles.

After putting some clothes on, Erica came back into the living room. And on the table... there was a note.

"Oh shit."

_The weather is quite lovely today, is it not? Perhaps you and I should meet for a walk in the park. _

_-Loki_

Oh. Well... that wasn't so bad. Erica shrugged. It wasn't the craziest idea in the world, after all. She walked out into the hall, down the stairs, and into the lobby. The double-doors into the complex were solid, so Erica didn't see what was outside until...

"You. Have got. To be joking."

The weather was INDEED lovely... it was a goddamn winter wonderland. People walked around, expressions of puzzlement shared by all. _Please God, _Erica thought, _don't let Loki have anything to do with this. _But, in the back of her mind, Erica knew he did. Loki was So responsible for this it might as well have his initials drawn into the snow.

Erica put her face into her palm. "WHY?"

And with that, the assassin headed off towards Central Park. Loki had some fucking explaining to do.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL LIKED! THANKS FOR READING!


	15. Chapter 15

Sure enough, the God was waiting quietly on a bench for her. No wait... THE bench. The very bench she'd met him at last Christmas. Of all the dumb, sentimental... ugh... He had a smug look plastered to his face, at that. Loki's lips were spread into a wide grin, eyes lit up like little emeralds in the snow. And Erica was about ready to kill him. No, seriously.

"Good morning, Erica." Loki greeted curtly.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" She replied, near yelling.

"I am presenting you with gifts. Have you not taken notice?"

"Oh I've TAKEN NOTICE, alright. You've been breaking the rules! No entering my place without permission, remember?"

"So... you do not like the gifts?"

Erica rubbed the bridge of her nose, groaning. Of course that's the first question Loki would ask. "I liked the Mead, though the shit knocked me out pretty damn fast. Midgardian alcohol is strong my ass."

"And the dress?" Loki continued, ignoring her comment.

"I don't do dresses, Loki. However, the cape is nice."

"Jewels?"

"Don't do jewelry either." Erica clarified.

Loki pouted out his lower lip, as if frustrated. "Well then what DO you like? Is the snow to your liking, as I predicted? The rifle?"

"What I like is when I'm not coming home to finding unexplained packages everywhere." She snapped, taking a note and ignoring his other two questions. "And THIS..." She waved her hand around to indicate the weather, "Is too much."

"So you don't like it?"

"Why do you CARE?"

"I wish to make you happy, nothing more." Loki stated plainly, as if it was common knowledge.

This was driving Erica up a wall. "You keep saying that!" Her tone was exasperated, frustrated. "WHY?! Why does it matter to you?"

Now he grew pensive, not willing to speak. There was something he wasn't telling her... or something he wasn't GOING to tell her. What was his problem? What possible thing could he be keeping from her? Considering he's already tried to take over the world, revealed his true Jotun form to her, AND explained how he'd felt inferior all his life... obviously Erica wasn't going anywhere.

There wasn't much Erica wasn't prepared for... she had seen quite a lot of insanity over her period of time on this planet. From the ancient vampire she was raised by, to the shapeshifters and werewolves that she considered family... what could Loki have that he was uncomfortable telling her?

"Come on, Loki, what is it? Y'know there's not much that's going to scare me at this point. Now tell me, you asshole, what does my happiness mean to you? Why are you lavishing me with all this?!"

And with that, the god drew a deep breath. Erica crossed her arms, awaiting an answer.

"Erica..."

"Loki?"

"Everything I have done... I do out of love."

That answer stopped whatever she was going to say dead in its tracks. "Wh-what?"

"You heard me. You are a fearsome, stubborn, violent woman... and Odin HELP me, I love you."

All the princess could do was stand there, mouth agape. She sure as shit wasn't prepared for that.

AUTHORS' NOTE: I KNOW IT'S SHORT. THEY'LL GET LONGER AGAIN. :) I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED ANYWAY! THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORTING WITH YOUR FAVORITES/FOLLOWS/REVIEWS!

IT ALL MEANS THE WORLD TO ME!


	16. Chapter 16

While all this was taking place, Thor stood quietly, hiding in the background. Loki was speaking to a woman, a _mortal_ woman. Thor could barely believe his eyes. It was such a shocking development! Loki had always despised the Midgardians, and to think he would actually engage in conversation with one..

"Everything I have done... I do out of love."

Wait, WHAT?!

"You heard me. You are a fearsome, stubborn, violent woman, and Odin HELP me, I love you."

The woman, (who was _stunning_, Thor might add), appeared to be in utter disbelief. And to be honest, she was mirroring Thor's emotions exactly. Loki falling in love with a Midgardian woman?! It was... unbelievable! Not to mention how very much this explains! Thor watched as her expression calmed, softened. She sighed, putting her face into her hands.

"Loki... goddamn it." Thor heard the woman for the first time.

She appeared to be debating. "I- you... I won't even let you KISS me. Why the Hell would you think I would want love?!"

Thor was awaiting some sort of outburst, retaliation. He prepared himself for it, in fact. Loki was never one to take rejection, even after the literally hundreds of times women have done it before. Thor tightened the grip on his hammer, ready to attack... but his brother did something totally surprising. Loki simply gave her a small smile, understanding.

"I am aware of your personality, Erica. I was not expecting an immediate reciprocation."

"Oh." The blonde seemed to be just as shocked as Thor was. "Glad you're taking it so well."

"Do not mistake my understanding for resignation, my love."

She groaned. "Shit."

"Indeed. I will not be dissuaded by your aversion to love. Need be, I shall pursue you until the ends of time. One day, Erica, you shall give me your heart."

"Loki..."

He put a finger to her lips. "Hush, my beloved. For now I must return to Asgard. I shall woo you more later."

And before Erica could get a word in, Loki disappeared. Thor followed, leaving poor Erica to stand in the now warm air.

* * *

_A couple hours Later..._

Thor was waiting quite casually, leaning against the door to the dining hall. Loki had finally come out for dinner, walking quite happily. As the black-haired god passed, Thor made no motion to stop and discuss it with him. He had bigger plans. The royal family was to all sit down at dinner, as per the usual. Jane, now 'Princess Jane', took her place beside her beloved Thor.

Loki examined her. Light brown hair, flowing down to her exposed slender shoulders, and framing a girlish face. Jane looked so innocent, big pink cheeks and full lips. And she was quite given to dressing in the finest Asgardian gowns. The brunette softly kissed Thor on the cheek, eyes sparkling with insufferable, disgusting love. Nothing like his Erica. Under his breath, the mischief-maker chuckled. Thor would be so lucky. Hopefully, Thor would never know of her.

Erica was his, and Thor would only disrupt the situation. Woo her away from him, even. Well... perhaps not. Thor was too nauseatingly infatuated with the little princess of Asgard to take notice. If anything, he'd have one of the three oafs steal her. Loki would not put it past any of them.

The god was no fool. Loki knew he was universally hated. The entirety of Midgard despised him, for obvious reasons. And Asgard loathed him. Jotunheim had cast him out anyway...

So yes, Loki was well-hated. Any of those fools would be jumping at the chance to turn Erica against him. And that was something the God would not allow. Brooding, Loki began picking at his pheasant. Thor laughed merrily with his friends, joyful as always. Loki despised it.

And worse... the bastard was eyeing him devilishly. Teasingly. Tauntingly. It was as if Thor knew what was going through Loki's mind, and giving it 'the middle finger' as Erica would have said.

"So Loki..." Thor began, a condescending tone wrapped in his every syllable.

"What, Thor?" Loki tried to keep the edge of anger out of his voice, with Frigga and Odin there.

"When are you going to introduce her?"

Loki stopped mid-bite. Lowering the fork, he looked menacingly towards his 'brother.' Now, Loki had two options. He could immediately get defensive, alerting everyone to how very much he cared for the mortal. OR, he could put his title to good use... and lie.

"Whatever do you mean, Thor?"

"When are you going to introduce her to us, Loki? The woman?"

"What ever ARE you talking about?" Loki knew it best to play coy.

"Erica, of course."

A flash of pure anger burned through the God, lighting up his eyes and setting his face into a hard line. That BASTARD knew her name. Thor had seen her. Shit.

"You've been spying on me." Loki stated.

"Only for a couple weeks. And now I know what you've been up to! Congratulations, my brother! Although she may not want you at this time, perhaps one day you shall gain her heart as you so desire." Thor was patronizing him. Pathetic.

"Forgive mine asking, but who exactly are you speaking of?" Lady Sif inquired.

"Oh, Loki has fallen in love with a Midgardian woman, such as I have. Her name is Erica, and might I say, Loki had found quite a specimen. She's absolutely gorgeous!" More anger. Yet the oaf continued. "Her hair is color of sunshine, and skin as white as the snow my brother conjured for her. And her eyes are the color of a stormy ocean."

Surprisingly, Jane did not seem perturbed by this. Rather, she listened indulgently. "Aw, So Loki has a lady-love?"

"Unrequited, I'm afraid."

"Not surprising. He is a undesirable little thing." Vollstag muttered.

"Indeed, any woman such as Thor described must be far too decent for Loki." Fandral continued. "Perhaps we should meet her! Then we could save her from this poor bastards' affections!"

This caused the entire table to erupt into laughter.

And with that, Loki stood up and stormed off. It was either leave now or murder somebody. Possibly Thor. Most likely Thor. Definitely Thor.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL LIKED! THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORTING!


	17. Chapter 17

Silken green billowed around her, as the golden sheets beneath soothed her skin. Erica didn't know where she was. There was no lighting of which to speak, yet everything seemed... bright? Yeah, that was probably the word. As she sat up, the princess came to notice a rather odd fact... she was unclothed. The only thing covering her ivory form was the fur blanket above the gold. Another thing... there was a mirror above her head.

"What. The. Fuck." She said to the empty space, eyes darting around cautiously.

"Mmm... calm down my beloved mortal. You'll come to no harm here."

The voice was so recognizable to Erica that it was almost painful. "Loki?"

"In a way, yes." He responded plainly.

"Wha- where are we?"

She looked beside her, the god in question lying on his side. Dark hair spilled over the pillows, giving a delightful contrast to the rest of this bright setting. Loki's skin was as pale as ever... and Erica was seeing a lot more of it than she was used to. Instead of his usual leather attire, Loki was exposed. His slender neck, with the adam's apple bobbing, trailed down to his angular shoulder blades. One particularly muscular arm was keeping Loki perched on his elbow. Erica watched as his chest heaved, her eyes traveling down to the defined line of his hip.

"Why are you naked?"

Loki shrugged. "It's YOUR dream, you tell me."

"Dream?"

"Of course."

Reaching one hand out, Erica ran her fingers delicately over the flesh of Loki's pectoral muscles. They felt a little smoother than normal skin, but...

"It feels real."

"You have a vivid imagination, my dear." Was dream-Loki's explanation.

Erica let out an exasperated sigh, collapsing back against the pillows. As they bounced, the pillows fell to the bed in slow-motion. "So I'm having a dream about a man I shouldn't be giving the time of day, discussing how this is MY dream and I should know what's going on it?"

Dream-Loki chuckled. "That's the long and short of it."

"Dear god, I'm becoming my mother!"

The dream- Loki rolled over, placing himself over top of Erica's nude form. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"This is your dream, I cannot do anything you do not truly wish for me to do."

She thought about this. "If this is a lucid dream, then how come you're still on me?"

Loki shrugged above her. "Perhaps it is your subconscious allowing you the freedoms that you deny yourself in waking hours."

Erica crossed her arms, eyes suspicious.

"That or you invaded my dreams, fuck-wad."

A playful grin spread over the gods' face. Well, this dream-version of her perpetual fly in her ointment ACTED like Loki. "You can choose not to believe me, it IS your mind."

"Fuck you."

"Indeed, you will." Dream-Loki taunted.

Erica wasn't sure what to make of this. Obviously it was a dream, there is no way she'd have let this go on for as long as it has otherwise. The only real question was whether or not this was Loki. REAL Loki. Pain in the ass, supposedly-in-love-with-her Loki.

"Tell me Erica..." The dream-Loki inquired, dipping down beside her ear. "... Why will you not accept his love?"

"I don't owe you a fucking explanation. If this is my head, I shouldn't have to say it. You know already."

"True, but you need to say it in order for things to get better. Besides, you DO owe real-Loki an explanation."

"NO." Erica replied, gritting her teeth.

Dream-Loki pressed down, his weight resting heavily between her supple thighs. "Well then I suppose I'll just have to fuck you senseless until you get over this fear of yours."

"It is NOT fear."

Loki laughed. "You cannot lie to me, my beloved. Now just lay back and enjoy yourself. Odin knows you won't when you're awake."

Before she could come back with some type of comeback, dream-Loki had delved into her. Erica gasped at this sudden intrusion, unreal as it may be. The blonde suddenly felt helpless, an emotion that drove her up a wall. She tried to push him away, to no avail.

"You cannot deny that you want this, Erica. No matter what you say, what lie you concoct... I know the truth. You LONG for him."

Dream-Loki just pinned Erica's wrists above the bed, grinding his hips against her. He was inside of her, though it did not hurt as it should. As it probably no surprise, Erica's aversion to touch left her quite virginal. So she could only imagine how it would feel if Loki was inside of her.

Even so, she could not help the arousal it brought.

"Why are you doing this?" Erica asked.

"Because you want HIM to do this to you."

"No I do not. I do NOT want Loki."

"Lies."

"No."

Another thrust, a dull yet pleasurable feeling.

"Admit it."

"Never."

"Admit it!"

"NO!" Erica screamed, feeling two lips coming down on her own.

This was a remembered feeling. Soft yet cool, a tongue invading her mouth, passionate hands entwining themselves in her hair... "I love you." Dream-Loki said before Erica shot up in bed, gasping. It was dark out, the sun still not having risen. Despite her best efforts, the princess couldn't help but feel the sharp prick of her aroused fangs and throbbing between her legs.

That was on hell of a dream. And not in a good way. This was something that might make it hard to look Loki in the eyes. Well, he only comes around every so often... what's the worst that could happen?

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL LIKED! THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE NICE TO SEE HOW ERICA IS HANDLING THINGS. THANKS FOR READING/SUPPORTING!


	18. Chapter 18

Loki had been enduring these jabs for two weeks now. Though he was used to the cruelty, he'd dealt with it for most of his existence... this time it was different. Even after Frigga had comforted Loki, telling him that it was all in good jest, the god still felt surprisingly more affected by all this than usual. Perhaps because it was not just him anymore. Yesterday Loki had become downright outraged when Fandral had insinuated that Erica must have been one psychotic woman to desire Loki's company.

THAT nearly got him killed. Plus Loki remembers saying something along the lines of:

"You know nothing of my Erica! How DARE you speak of her in such a way, you insolent fool! Spew such insults again and I shall rip your defiant tongue from your disgusting orifice!"

Nobody had ever expected something like that from him, not over a woman. Especially a Midgardian woman! And it stunned the entire table into silence. Even Odin's eyes were widened.

And all of this had gotten Loki thinking. He did not deny his feelings for Erica, at least not anymore. That was not the problem. However... Loki had begun to feel as though he might be better off on Midgard than Asgard. And THAT frightened the god. To actually consider leaving the home he once held dear, all of it, for one human female? Madness! At the same time, things had grown quite different over the past few years.

Loki no longer cherished Asgard, considered it more of a lavish prison than a home. He was well-hated, loathed by the entire realm. Going out into the marketplace brought shame and scorning. So he was confined to the palace. And within its' walls, The Warriors Three taunted and demeaned him. Odin has all but shunned Loki, barely looking his supposed 'son' in the eye. Frigga was the only true parent Loki had left, and even she was beginning to tire of constantly being at his defense. He understood... after so long it must become tiring.

Thor was of course the metaphorical smoking gun that ignited Loki's aggression and jealousy. Despite his best attempts to be Loki's brother, Thor would forever be the chosen son, beloved by many and envied by all.

Meanwhile there was a realm that despised him just as much. One that would cheerfully call for his public execution, as Erica put it once, Vlad Tepes Style. Yet there was one difference. In that world there was one person who not only tolerated his presence, but actually enjoyed it. A person who cared for the broken god. A person who empathized with his pain of being a monster.

... The scales were definitely tipping to the alternative.

* * *

"Thor, I'm leaving." Loki stated, bursting into his chambers.

"What?!" The tall blonde replied, mouth wide open.

"You heard me. I'm going to Midgard to be with Erica, and I am not to be returning for some time."

Thor could barely believe his ears. Loki abandon his kingdom... for MIDGARD?! He grabbed Loki's shoulders firmly., as if shaking him would knock this idea out of his mind. "You cannot be serious, Loki! The humans shall kill you!"

"I have managed to survive there before. My magic disguises me." He responded.

"Even so, how could you do this?! What of us, your family? We love you!"

In response to this, the black-haired god simply snorted. "Love?"

"Yes! Father loves you! Mother loves you." Thor paused before finishing:

"...I love you!"

"Do you wish to give me a kiss then?"

"Not like that, Loki!" Thor rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Thor, you know that I serve no real purpose here. All the kingdom despises me, from the lowest of servants to Odin himself. Your friends wish only to torment me. Nobody wants me here. I'd rather be with one person who understands me than be with a company that loathes me."

These declarations did not phase Thor until that final sentence. _With the one person who understands me... _the phrase replayed itself in Thor's mind for several minutes. He digested all this information. In this one instance, Loki was not lying. From the look in his eyes to the slight quiver of his lip... and the way he spoke those words. Loki really did feel alone. COMPLETELY alone.

And it about broke Thor's heart. He sighed.

"I shall speak with the Allfather."

* * *

_The next morning..._

Erica felt the prick of her fangs biting her tongue, the taste of blood in her mouth as she awoke. Another one of those goddamn dreams. The memories of it were burned into her mind, no matter how much she wished to forget. Last night Loki was in his natural form, and his kisses seared the skin of Erica's neck. It was fire against ice, indigo eyes staring up into carmine, golden hairs mingling with bleakest black. Ugh...

She stood up. Something to chase away with some hot breakfast and a cold glass of milk. After stretching, Erica began padding down the dark hallway. The cold hardwood beneath her feet felt refreshing, a great day-starter.

But what she came across next shocked any and all calmness out of the princess' system. Erica stopped dead in her tracks as she got to the entrance to the living room. There, dozing on her couch, was Loki. Lycan was lying on the floor beside him, not alerting her as usual. Immediately she stormed over and shook the god awake.

"Good morning, my love." He said drowsily, lightly amused.

"What. The hell. Are you doing in my apartment?!" Erica demanded. "Have you forgotten our little rule? Are you prepared to die?"

"Ah, well... I live here, so..."

She grabbed Loki by the roots of his hair and yanked him to his feet. "YEOCH!" He screamed.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm living here now. Last night Odin agreed to my staying on Midgard... without my powers that is. I was given enough magic to conjure an apartment key and come here."

"And Odin allowed this, because...?"

"Perhaps my utter love for you was convincing enough that he allowed me to stay. Or he was shocked that I would give up my powers and thought some time here would teach me humility, as it did Thor." Loki explained.

"So you're..."

"Mortal, yes."

"So I can properly kick your ass, then?" Erica asked gleefully. "Because there is no way I'm going to be alright with this."

"I did not expect any less."

"Then what are you still doing here?"

Loki sighed. "I've no other place to go."

"That's your problem. Now get out of my apartment." She commanded, pointing towards the door. "I'll get the goddamn lock changed." Erica added, answering his question before he could ask it.

"Would you really be so heartless as to set me out on the streets? Allow me to go out undisguised and be murdered? You said that you care about what happens to me, have you not?"

Erica, against her better judgment, considered this. She hated to say it, but he was right. Of course she _wanted to_ be heartless at the moment. God knows she did. But, as usual, Erica's nagging conscious came to bite her in the ass. That same little part of Erica that told her to comfort him when he was crying in the night , the same one that couldn't bear to see Loki dragged off by federal agents.

Now it was practically yelling for her to let the god stay here. That Erica would never forgive herself for letting Loki go homeless, leaving him to die as a mortal. She did not understand this facet of her mind, which was so irrational it could be deemed bat-shit NUTS. But then again, Erica wasn't exactly a picture of mental health as a whole. Anybody who's career choice involves murdering people for money has to be off in the head a bit, right?

The whole vampire-Viking DNA combination probably didn't help. So, with a heavy sigh, Erica slumped her shoulders and gave up. Which was frightening, because with anything else she wouldn't have. Erica wasn't one to give into the wills of others, no matter what they tried to do to 'persuade' her. It was what made the person she was. It was how she got through life. Having an unbending will.

"God damn it. I'm never getting rid of you, am I?"

Loki chuckled. "No, probably not."

Then Erica looked to Lycan, who had awoken from all the arguing. "Say, why the hell didn't my dog bite you, like usual?"

"Perhaps I'm growing on him."

Erica's eyes narrowed towards the dog. "You traitor." She accused. Lycan gave a comical little guilty face before stalking off.

The blonde turned her attention back to Loki.

"Okay, I'm setting up some ground rules. You do what I say, when I say it. This is my house and you're staying here because I let you. Understood? On that note, Rule One: Respect my privacy. Knock on the doors if I'm in my bedroom. Don't come into the bathroom if I'm using it."

Loki nodded in understanding.

"Good. Two: If I'm on a mission, you fucking behave. I don't want to have to come home and find some god-awful mischief I have to rectify."

Interjecting, the god said: "You remember that I am mortal, right?"

"Even so. I'm not going to make the mistake of underestimating your ability to fuck shit up... It's your job. Rule number Three: Do NOT touch my guns."

"Noted." Loki replied.

"And Rule Four, most importantly, is this. DO NOT. EVER. TRY. TO KISS ME. AGAIN."

"I cannot make any promises on that one, my love. Despite your resistance, I shall not be detoured. One day you shall succumb and yield to me." Loki crossed his arms, giving Erica a confident smirk. "My wooing of you shall not be stopped, no matter what you say."

To this, Erica replied: "I guess I should've expected that." She began walking to the kitchen, deciding getting some food on her stomach was definitely in order. But Erica suddenly stopped, a thought coming to mind.

"Say, will you at least stop invading my dreams? Because it's getting annoying."

Loki could not have been more pleased. "You have dreamed of me?" He asked, genuine surprise apparent.

Suddenly Erica felt a little warmer than usual, face flooding with heat. FUCK. Way to go, Erica, you just added fuel to his fire. Instead of answering, the blonde simply kept her back turned and went to get some breakfast. It was too early for all this bullshit, anyway.

AUTHORS' NOTE: SO I HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED! THANKS FOR READING/SUPPORTING!


	19. Chapter 19

Erica wandered through the aisles, searching for the right color of hair dye. No, not for her of course. For Loki. Because the first thing that needed to happen, if he was going to be staying with her, was that Loki needed a new appearance. A disguise. He was now mortal, without magic, and could no longer take it upon himself to change the way he looks.

The best she could do in this department was to get him a new hair color (and possibly style, but that'd come later), and some eye-color contacts. Maybe she'd try and have him get a tan... though that might not work, considering his heritage. Once she had the basics down, they could go shopping for some new clothes. Hell, that'd disguise him even more. Erica already had the contacts, which were crystalline blue. Now... what hair color should she choose?

Somehow Erica didn't think red would look right on him. Of course she wasn't exactly an expert on style, never having given much thought to it herself. But still... she didn't see Loki as a redhead. Dark brown? Hmmm... nah that'd be too close to his naturally dark hair. The same with any shade of brown, really. So that left the blonde shades.

He needed something of such stark contrast that it would blindside the normal populous. And that led to her final decision...

* * *

"Platinum?" Loki inquired, inspecting one of the three boxes of hair dye.

Hey, his hair was dark, Erica needed it to bleach his hair out to maximum capacity.

"Yeah, exactly. Essentially, your hair would be extremely blonde. Close to white, but not really."

The former-god appeared thoughtful, unsure of what to make of this. "So you INSIST upon this course of action?"

"Yes, Loki. It's the only way to change your appearance enough so that you can go out in public."

"Is there no other way?" He asked, obviously not happy with this idea. It seemed Loki was rather attached to his raven colors follicles.

"Unless you want to be bald..."

"No!" He interrupted. "You may dye my hair."

"Alright, come with me." Erica held out her hand, leading Loki into the bathroom.

He already had the contacts in, though he had not seen what he looked like. It was a bit of a fight for Erica to put them in, the god had flinched away several times, but eventually he conceded. Once in the bathroom, Loki sat on the closed toilet seat. Erica looked at the directions. There was a bottle full of powder with a nozzle, a silver pouch, some rubber gloves, and some conditioner.

STEP ONE:_ Open the packet. Remove lid from bottle and pour contents of packet inside. _

She did so, Loki watching with only mild interest.

STEP TWO: _Put on gloves. Replace the lid on bottle and shake until thoroughly mixed._

Again, Erica did as the directions said.

STEP THREE: _Starting at the roots, squeeze contents into hair and thoroughly distribute. Keep out of eyes and face. It is recommended that you put a towel around your neck to prevent staining of clothes._

The woman grabbed a spare hand-towel, throwing it over Loki's neck. She told him to close his eyes as she squirted the light-colored liquid onto his scalp. Loki wasn't fond of the smell... It was like pen-ink. But he did not protest as Erica's fingers ran themselves gently through his hair, even massaging the substance into the roots... not a wholly unpleasant sensation.

Until Loki began to notice something. "Erica?"

"Yeah?"

"My scalp in burning."

"That's normal, Loki. Don't worry about it."

"But it is uncomfortable, and a bit disconcerting." He argued.

Erica sighed. "Loki... we American women dye our hair all the time. My cousins did it all the time. And it makes our scalps burn. Trust me, it's just the chemicals we put in this stuff to make it work as well as it does. Harmless, really."

He huffed with indignation. "This certainly doesn't feel harmless! Are you positive?"

"Just don't breathe in the fumes and you'll be fine."

"Your race confounds me. You women go through this for the sake of beauty? Why?"

"Blame the media." Erica replied plainly as she finished up.

"Alright... we have to leave it in for fifteen minutes. Though with your hair... I'd say twenty. Then we rinse it out, and our case, repeat."

"Sounds_ dreadful."_

"I'm sorry." Erica said unsympathetically.

* * *

While Loki was waiting for the last round of dye to set in, he sat quietly on the couch. Erica was washing her hands, taking care of the empty dye products, so he was left quite alone. Alone, that is, except for Lycan.

The canine had grown to not see Loki as threat, which he was undoubtedly relieved by. No more bitten ankles, thank Odin! But, the god decided, if he was to be staying here for an extended period of time, he might as well make friends with the beast. So, trying not to move his head too much, Loki picked up a ball from the floor.

Lycan was immediately alert when he saw Loki bend over. Hey, he never said the dog trusted him fully! Loki threw the ball over the coffee table, which Lycan immediately ran for. When he brought it back though, it was like a tug of war to get him to relinquish the damn thing! The beast growled and refused to give up his prize, ending with Loki throwing his hands up and announcing:

"FINE! You don't want to be entertained, that is your choice, mutt."

At this point Lycan spit out the ball, having the slobber covered thing land on Loki's pants.

"Oh how mature." The god commented, gesturing to his now wet sweatpants (Which were borrowed from Erica).

Erica returned, taking Loki to rinse the excess dye out for the final time. Afterwards, Erica blow-dried Loki's hair... which he notably did NOT enjoy in the least. All that loud, hot air blowing in his ear was quite unpleasant. Finally, though, it was done.

"How does it look?" The former-god asked.

The assassin could only stare for a minute. This new color had altered his look quite completely, even changing his style so to speak. Instead of appearing gothic, dark... Loki looked... almost like a punk-rocker. Somebody up for a wild night, somebody into the Sex-Pistols and Pink Floyd, somebody dangerous but with a fun side. His hair came out almost completely as intended, aside from a few brassy streaks. But that just added to the appeal. Quite frankly, the god looked kind of hot.

Erica thought: _All he's really missing is a gold earring and a spiked black-leather chocker. _

"Well?"

Loki opened his eyes, revealing those now blue crystal orbs. Dear. Fucking. GOD. Even Erica had to admit that was a bit much. She floundered for a proper response, coming up only with:

"You look... inconspicuous. Well, not exactly inconspicuous. You don't look like you is what I'm saying. Take a look."

The god stood, turning to face himself in the mirror.

"Oohh... I quite like it."

Erica awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "Good. That's good. Now we can go shopping for you tomorrow."

"Sounds excellent. Perhaps I shall find something to my liking."

"Yeah... well anyway... I'm gonna go feed my dog now." And with that, Erica made a hasty retreat.

When she was safely away from the suddenly appealing god, Erica mumbled: "Don't let this be in my dreams tonight."

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL LIKED. I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF A FILLER CHAPTER, BUT YOU KNOW...THANKS FOR READING/SUPPORTING. NEXT CHAPTER IS SHOPPING!


	20. Chapter 20

Erica hated the mall. Let's get that out of the way right now. It wasn't just the fact that it was feeding into America's obsessive consumerism and shallowness, though that was part of it. It wasn't about the annoying teenagers that went squealing about the stores, not completely. It wasn't even that all the stuff in there was ungodly expensive and a total rip-off to the customers.

No, no. Malls rubbed Erica the wrong way because of just how goddamn_ crowded_ they were. And sadly, this was exactly the reason the mall was the best place to take Loki for shopping. It sounds odd, yes, but think about it. In a small store, you could be spotted easily amongst the tiny crowds. A mall is like hiding in plain sight. Nobody will pay attention to you in the throngs of other patrons. And when you're toting the god of Mischief around with you, that type of anonymity was a blessing.

...Or at least that's what she'd assumed.

Because the instant they were in Macy's, where they'd entered... everyone was staring. Just. Fucking. Staring. Little children looked up from their small stature, gazing in what appeared to be wonder. Their mothers would follow their eyes, and their jaws seemed to pop open. When there were fathers, they'd cling to their wives.

All the younger women, teenagers and girls in their twenties, seemed to follow suite. Boyfriends looming protectively over them. Those in groups would whisper excitedly, peeking up once and a while to get a glimpse at her and Loki. What was so goddamn interesting?! They were just a couple of assholes walking through the Macy's. Big deal!

Hurriedly, Erica directed her companion to the men's section, and ordered him to pick out some outfits. So now here she was, standing outside a dressing room while Loki tried on his Midgardian clothing. Great.

"You about done yet?"

"Patience, love! I'm trying to get these damned pants on!"

"Well hurry up! I wanna get out of here as soon as physically possible!" She paused. "And I am NOT your love."

She heard a chuckle through the door. "You will be. Furthermore, why do you wish to leave so soon?"

"People keep staring at us."

"What is wrong with that?" Loki asked.

"It just makes me really uncomfortable. We're supposed to be inconspicuous, remember?" Erica pointed out.

Loki sighed as he exited the dressing room. Erica's eyebrows shot straight up, eyes widened. Loki was in black jeans, combat boots, and a loose white button-up. Strewn over his shoulders was a leather jacket, little spikes pointing out at the shoulders. Holy SHIT, he DID look like a punk-rocker.

"You worry too much, Erica. Nobody is apt to recognize me, especially in these clothes." He turned about, giving her the full view. Damn... those jeans weren't exactly loose...

"How do I look in this?" He asked.

"You look like some weird 80's throw-back. It suits you disturbingly well."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Uh... compliment. You look good, how's that?"

"Much better."

"Great. So we'll get you a wardrobe and get the hell out of here."

He crossed his arms, huffing in exasperation."Is the staring THAT bad?"

"You don't understand." Erica looked around, lowering her voice. "It's everyone. The entire fucking store is looking at us right now. To me, that's a red light. We need to get your stuff and go."

Loki followed her eyes, watching all the people who looked their way. He had to admit, it was quite a high number. But none of these stares seemed menacing, or even fearful... except maybe the men. They were just... oh. OH.

"Oh darling, they mean us no harm. Relax yourself, it will make your life much easier."

"Ptttsshh, like I'm going to take life advice from YOU."

Loki had no comeback for that. "... Fair point. Fine. Let us purchase my clothing so we may leave."

Happy that he was listening, Erica took a deep breath. The two wandered around, Loki picking out all of the clothes that he found satisfactory. And he seemed to have quite a specific taste. An affinity for leather was clear, above all else. He refused to wear any sort of shorts, always opting for either blue jeans or black ones. Loki had a couple wife-beaters, some dress shirts, and plain T's. And aside from the leather jacket, Loki also had a nice red hoodie.

Of course he also picked out fancy suits and black-tie attire. Ever the classy fucker.

When the two got to the check-out counter, a lovely young woman was waiting there. She had dark skin, her black hair pulled into a high pony tail and lips the shade of a cherry. Plus a shirt that was two sizes too small. She seemed just as fascinated by the two as everyone else was.

"Hi, my name is Cindy, how may I help you?" She asked, quite over-cheerfully.

"Yes, I wish to purchase these items." Loki requested smoothly, making Cindy blush.

"Anything you need. Mr... uh..."

"Louis." Loki came up with on the spot.

"Louis. That's a nice name."

There was a long pause between that statement and her actually beginning to ring the clothes up. And in that time, Erica noticed it. She was staring shamelessly. At LOKI. It was the same open-mouthed, entranced expression as all the other women wore. Even the little ones. That was when it clicked. This was never about THEM, no, no. They were never staring at her. Just Loki. And those expressions weren't fearful or curious or investigative... just amorous.

And that fact, that itty bitty little fact, pissed Erica off to literally no end. She didn't know what it was, but Erica didn't like the idea of all the women in the mall staring at Loki like some piece of meat. No, she was NOT jealous.

She wasn't.

It was just that all these little bitches could be so STUPID! So goddamn ignorant! And SO fucking insulting! Staring at people was rude, no matter what the circumstances. Secondly, the stupidity. Even if these girls couldn't recognize him... it just made Erica angry that they thought he was sexy. Maybe it was because she knew who he was.

Erica was his friend, of course, but she wasn't unaware of his reputation... rightly earned. And watching this 'Cindy' cunt be all flirty with Loki was only adding fuel to the fire. She was playfully batting her eyes, intentionally pushing her breasts together as she crossed her arms. Giggling. Stupid. Could she be any more OBVIOUS?! This chick had to be in her twenties, at least. And she was behaving like some teenage girl talking to her high-school crush. Pathetic. The fact that she was completely ignoring Erica's existence as she paid wasn't helping.

Loki didn't seem to be interested in her, at least. Just being polite while dismissing her advances. Finally all the clothes were bagged and Erica dragged Loki out to the car. On the way home, Erica brought it up.

"The cashier has a crush on you." Erica stated plainly.

"Yes, well, her emotions are rather unrequited."

"Good. I don't want to be responsible for the death of some poor bitch."

"Are you suggesting I'd end up killing her?"

"Oh I'm not suggesting it. I'm SAYING it. You'd never make it with some ditzy girl with the romantic maturity of a thirteen year old. Guarantee you'd stab her in the neck with a fork on your first date."

"Whoa! Where did this sudden hostility come from, Erica?" He sounded almost amused.

"Sudden? I didn't realize I had such massive control over my emotions."

"True, true. But I have never heard you speak so cruelly over somebody... aside from me."

"So?" Erica asked, shrugging.

"It's adorable, really."

Her head snapped to the passenger seat. "Excuse me?"

"You're jealous."

"You wish." Was her immediate comeback.

"Wishing is for children. I'm simply making an observation." Loki defended.

"Well you have horrible observation skills."

Because Erica wasn't jealous! Why would she be?! This was LOKI, the evil god of mischief and constant pain in her ass.

"Do I now?"

"Yes." She retorted.

Jealous. Biggest load of bullshit she'd heard all day.

AUTHORS NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED! THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORTING! AGAIN, I THINK THIS CHAPTER WAS A BIT LACKING, BUT YOU GUYS TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!


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